WASHINGTON, July 26: US Special Forces will strike an extremist target in Pakistan’s tribal territory if they had urgent intelligence, says a senior Pentagon official. Asked if US Special Forces would be able to strike in case the US received a report requiring a swift action, Undersecretary of Defence James Clapper told the House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees: “Well, yes, sir. We would be.”

“Given the primacy of the fight against Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, if we have in the future certainty of knowledge, then of course the United States would always have the option of taking action on its own,” he said.

But he also said that the Bush administration would prefer to work with the Pakistani forces and “we, in most situations — nearly every situation -- do work with them.”

Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns expressed similar views at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, saying the United States would take unilateral action if it had credible information that senior Al Qaeda leaders were hiding at a particular place.

The question of unilateral US strikes followed a US intelligence report last week that claimed that Al Qaeda had established a safe haven in Pakistan’s tribal belt and Osama bin Laden and other senior Al Qaeda leaders were hiding there.

“Al Qaeda remains a potent force inside Pakistan, as is the Taliban,” said Mr Burns, the State Department's point man for Pakistan and India. “And we want to see Pakistan use all tools at its disposal to choke the flow of funds to terrorist groups.”

In the House, Undersecretary of Defence Clapper said President Musharraf was not doing all the US would like him to do, adding that the optimal situation in the tribal areas would be greater freedom for the Pakistanis to take action themselves and — speaking personally — he'd like more freedom for US forces.