ISLAMABAD, Feb 7: Three Afghan civilians were killed by a missile fired by remote control from a pilotless CIA aircraft in the southeast of the country, a Pakistan-based news agency said on Thursday.

US officials in Washington said they believed a tall Al Qaeda leader had been killed in the missile strike leading to speculation about whether the United States may have hit its most wanted man in the war on terrorism — Osama bin Laden. (Osama is believed to be between 6 feet 4 inches and 6 feet 6 inches (193 cm to 198 cm) tall.)

But the private Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) news agency said the missile hit a group of young men in the Zawar Khili area, 35km southwest of Khost town and 15km from the Pakistani border on Tuesday night.

“Two people were killed on the spot and one died on the way to hospital,” the AIP said. AIP, citing tribal elders, identified the three dead men as Munir Ahmad, Jehangir Khan and Daraz Khan. —Reuters