Islamabad - A suspected pilotless US aircraft on Saturday fired two missiles on a militant hideout in Pakistan's restive tribal region bordering Afghanistan, killing 30 people, an intelligence official said.

Seven people were also injured in the attack in South Waziristan, a sanctuary of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants launching cross-border attacks on international troops in Afghanistan.

"The missile strikes flattened the fort-like house in the Shawangai area," said the intelligence official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Locals have so far pulled out 30 bodies, and more people are believed to be buried under the rubble."

More than 50 militants were in the house when the missiles struck and most of those killed were al-Qaeda-linked fighters from Uzbekistan, the official said.

Taliban fighters surrounded the area after the attack and moved the wounded to a local hospital, the official added.

Hundreds of al-Qaeda and Taliban militants took refuge in Pakistan's tribal region after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Among the killed were also fearsome Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, who is suspected for ordering dozens of suicide attacks on Pakistani security forces and political leaders over since 2007.

Over the years, the United States has pressed the country to purge militant hideouts on its soil. Concerned over Pakistan's failure, it has recently intensified drone strikes inside Pakistan and eliminated dozens of al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

The air raids have also killed many civilians, fuelling public anger and forcing the government in Islamabad to repeatedly lodge formal protests with the United States.

The issue was raised again early this week when the newly named US envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, met Pakistani leaders in Islamabad as part of his consultations in a review of American policy on the fight against the Taliban.

But the head of United States' Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne Feinstein, revealed on Friday that the US drones take off from a Pakistani base.

At a hearing, Feinstein expressed surprise over Pakistani opposition to the campaign of Predator-launched CIA missile strikes against Islamic extremist targets on its land, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"As I understand it, these are flown out of a Pakistani base," she was cited as saying.

The statement might create political problems for struggling civilian government and the President Asif Ali Zardari whose standing among the public is already very low.

Country's top official Rehman Malik denied the Los Angeles Times' report. No one can be allowed to attack Pakistani people, he told reporters in the Southern port city of Karachi. (dpa)