A pre-dawn missile strike by a US drone on a suspected militant hideout in Pakistan’s volatile north Waziristan tribal region has killed at least 12 people.

The drone fired two missiles onto the house of a local tribesman in a border village near Miranshah, which has been the main target for US strikes in the recent months.

A security official said nine foreign militants - believed to be al-Qaeda fighters - were among those killed in the strike, which occurred on Friday morning. Their identities were not revealed.

Local residents said Amir Gul, the owner of the house, and two other members of his family were also killed.

The drone strike is the latest in the cross-border attacks which have infuriated the Pakistani government.

The US has launched more than two dozen strikes in the recent months in the tribal region which Pakistani and Western intelligence agencies believe has become the main base of al-Qaeda and Taleban activities.

US officials said the attacks have killed several al-Qaeda leaders.

But the attacks, which have also caused civilian casualties, have generated widespread protests in Pakistan with many demanding the government review Islamabad’s co-operation with the US.

Pakistan’s president Asif Ali Zardari, currently in New York to attend a UN conference, said the US missile attacks were counter-productive and violated Pakistan’s sovereignty.

He said the actions of the US were creating problems for his government’s effort to fight extremism in the country.

Friday's attack came when General McKiernan, the commander of International Security Assistant was in Islamabad to meet Pakistani military leaders, including General Ashfaq Kayani, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff.

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