At least 20 people were killed Sunday in a missile strike on a house in Pakistan near the Afghan border, according to witnesses and state-run media reports.
According to local tribesmen, the home -- a huge, fortress-like compound -- was occupied by suspected militant leaders.
Maj.-Gen. Athar Abbas, a Pakistani army spokesman, said that the army did not know how many died in the strike.
The Pakistan Television report said seven missiles were fired in the attack, which took place in the tribal area of South Waziristan. The report did not indicate who fired the missiles, but U.S. forces in Afghanistan have previously launched such attacks into Pakistan.
While Pakistan is an ally of the U.S.-led war on terror, is has barred foreign troops from operating on its soil.
A U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan said coalition forces conducted an operation near the South Waziristan border, but said the military had no information about the missile strike, saying that the two incidents were likely to be unrelated.
Local tribesman,Rahim Khan told The Associated Press that the missiles were fired by an unmanned aerial drone.
Khan said two missiles hit the home, which belonged to a militant leader and Taliban sympathizer who goes by the single name Noorullah.
Only American forces are known to have unmanned drones that conduct such operations in the region.
Khan said the missiles obliterated the building, toppling its walls that were made of mud brick and stone. Taliban supporters immediately surrounded the area.
Two Pakistani intelligence agents told The Associated Press that a second home was hit in the attack, killing at least eight suspected militants.
The lawless border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan is said to harbour a number of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters. Increasingly, the so-called Pakistan Taliban has turned their attention inwards, attacking Pakistani villages.
The missile strike comes one day after a bomb exploded at an Italian restaurant in Islamabad, killing one and injuring 11. A Canadian was among the wounded. The restaurant was a popular dining spot for foreigners.
Five Americans were also injured.
With files from The Associated Press
