Top US military and defence officials refused to confirm or deny the attack, but said Washington was determined to counter militants operating along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

"Two missiles fired by a suspected US drone hit a compound in Sararogha, in tribal South Waziristan region, killing at least eight suspected militants," a Pakistani official told AFP.

"It was a Taliban sanctuary, which was destroyed in the attack," another security official said.

"Some foreigners were possibly among those killed in the attack," he said.

The compound, which had underground bunkers, was in an area controlled by militant commander Baitullah Mehsud's tribe, he said. South Waziristan is a known haven for Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists.

Mehsud heads the feared Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and is Pakistan's most wanted militant, accused of plotting the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

US Admiral Mike Mullen told American TV he would not discuss specific operations, but said the militants' "safe haven" in Pakistan was being "addressed."

"There is a continuing concern with the existence of the safe haven in Pakistan, and that has to be addressed, has been addressed and needs to continue to be addressed," Mullen said.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates also declined to discuss the latest strikes.

"I think as long as they have a safe haven to operate there -- it's going to be a problem for us," Gates said.

This was the fourth missile strike blamed on unmanned US aircraft since President Barack Obama came to power, dashing Pakistani hopes that the new administration would abandon the policy.

More than two dozen similar attacks have been carried out since August 2008, killing more than 200 people, most of them militants.

Among the most recent incidents, a strike on February 16 destroyed an Afghan Taliban camp in Pakistan's northwest Kurram area, killing 26, two days after at least 27 militants died in a separate assault on one of Mehsud's camps.

In January, a US drone attack killed the head of Al-Qaeda operations in Pakistan, Kenyan national Usama al-Kini, and his lieutenant Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan in South Waziristan.

Pakistan is a key ally in the US-led "war against terror" but the strikes have fuelled anti-American sentiment in the country, particularly in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.

US and Afghan officials have accused Pakistan of not doing enough to crack down on the militants, who cross the border to attack US and NATO troops.

Pakistan rejects the accusation, pointing out that more than 1,500 Pakistani troops have died at the hands of Islamist extremists since 2002.

The lawless tribal areas have been wracked by violence since Afghanistan's Taliban regime was toppled by a US-led invasion in late 2001, prompting hundreds of fighters to flood the region.

earlier related report
US military sidestep questions on missile strikes
Top military and defense officials on Sunday declined to confirm or deny a suspected US missile strike in northwest Pakistan but said Washington was determined to counter militants operating on the border with Afghanistan.

Asked if two suspected missile strikes were proof that President Barack Obama was escalating US attacks on Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Pakistan, top military officer Admiral Mike Mullen said: "Well, I'm not going to talk a lot about our operations specifically."

"There is a continuing concern with the existence of the safe haven in Pakistan, and that has to be addressed, has been addressed and needs to continue to be addressed," Mullen said in an interview on "Fox News Sunday."

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates also declined to discuss possible US missile strikes when asked about covert action possibly fomenting turmoil in Pakistan.

"Well, I'm not going get into any intelligence operations," Gates told NBC's "Meet the Press" in an interview aired Sunday.

Their comments came after security officials in Pakistan said at least eight people were killed Sunday in two suspected US missile strikes in the northwest, near the Afghan border.

The tribal South Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan is known as a haven for Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists.

Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said NATO-led troops were working with Pakistani and Afghan forces to counter Al-Qaeda and allied insurgents operating in the border region.

"We've brought pressure on both sides of the border, Pakistani military as well as coalition forces and Afghan forces and we did toward the end of 2008 and that will continue to happen and we need to continue to bring that pressure on both sides and continue to coordinate those operations," Mullen said.

The attack on Sunday was the fourth suspected missile strike by unmanned US aircraft since President Barack Obama took office on January 20.

A suspected US missile strike on Feb 16 destroyed an Afghan Taliban camp and killed 26 in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of Kurram.

While the Pakistani government has pledged support for the US fight against terrorist threats, the strikes have fuelled anti-American sentiments in Pakistan and particularly in the tribal belt, where Washington says Al-Qaeda and Taliban operate from sanctuaries.

Gates said US officials held productive talks with their Pakistani counterparts last week in Washington and said the US government wanted to help "enable" Islamabad to fight Al-Qaeda and associated groups operating on the border with Afghanistan.

"I will just say that I think that the key here is our being able to cooperate with and enable the Pakistanis to be able to deal with this problem on their own sovereign territory," Gates said.

"I believe based on my talks with the Pakistanis here in Washington this past week, that they clearly now understand that what's going on up there in that border area is as big a risk to the stability of Pakistan as it is a problem for us in Afghanistan," he said.

The tribal areas have been wracked by violence since hundreds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda rebels sought refuge in the region after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan toppled the Taliban regime in late 2001.

"I think as long as they have a safe haven to operate there -- it's going to be a problem for us," Gates said.

Recalling his work for the Central Intelligence Agency during the Cold War when the United States sought to undermine Soviet troops in Afghanistan, Gates said he understood all to well the effect of a cross-border haven.

"After all, 20 years ago, I was on the other side of that border as deputy director of CIA -- fighting the Soviets. And we had the safe haven in Pakistan.

"And let me tell you. It made a big difference."

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