A missile strike by a suspected US drone has killed at least six people in a Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border, according to intelligence officials.

American forces have recently ramped up cross-border operations against Taleban and al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan’s wild border zone, which they believe is a possible hiding place for Osama bin Laden.

The attacks have drawn stiff protests from Islamabad, particularly a raid by US ground troops in the South Waziristan region on September 3.

Intelligence officials said that the missile struck the home of a local Taleban commander shortly before midnight near Mir Ali, a town in the North Waziristan region.

The officials, citing reports from their field agents, said six people were killed in the attack. The identity of the victims was not clear.

Pakistani leaders insist that only their country's forces are allowed to carry out operations inside Pakistan, and its troops recently fired warning shots at US helicopters flying over the ill-marked frontier.

Meanwhile, a Taleban doctor who also acts a spokesman for the group denied reports that the movement’s top leader in Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud, had fallen ill and died.

“I spoke to him today at 9am on the telephone, and he told me that he is surprised over rumors about his death,” Dr Eisa Khan told the AP news agency. Dr Khan said Mehsud had an unspecified kidney problem, but gave no more details.

Officials have accused Mehsud of being behind a wave of suicide attacks in Pakistan since the middle of last year, including the slaying of the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in December.

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