MIRANSHAH At least three children were killed on Friday when missiles fired by an unmanned aircraft hit a house in a Pakistani tribal border area, officials said.

Three children and two women have been killed in the missile strike which destroyed two village homes, another official said, adding that one woman was injured.

We suspect that the missiles were fired by forces across the border, the official said. This was the third strike in as many days in the area and blamed on Afghanistan-based international forces.

'Two drones were flying in the area. They fired three missiles,' said a witness in the region, near the Afghan border.

The strike on Friday hit the house of a tribesman in North Waziristans Goorweck Baipali village, 30 kilometres west of the regions main town of Miranshah, an unnamed security official said.

At least five militants were killed on Thursday when a missile fired from a pilotless plane hit a house in the North Waziristan village of Mohammad Khel, officials said.

The missile strikes targeting militants in Pakistan in recent weeks have been blamed on US-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in Afghanistan.

The White House declined to comment directly on the claim of US involvement from across the border in Afghanistan in recent days.

We respect their sovereignty and we support their new civilian government, spokeswoman Dana Perino said of Pakistan, adding that US President George W. Bush grieves any time there is a loss of innocent life.

I have no comment on reports of anything in Pakistan. As I said yesterday, however, we are in constant communication with the Pakistanis, said Perino, who on Thursday had underlined the need to improve counter-terrorism cooperation with Islamabad.

We are bound and determined to work with them to fight the extremists who threaten all of us, the spokeswoman said.

Military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said they were checking reports of the attack.

Pakistani forces did not carry out any activity in the area, Abbas said.

A tribesman in Miranshah said the village criss-crossed the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Half of the village is in Pakistan and the other half is in Afghanistan, Aqleem Khan said.

Fridays incident followed a separate attack late Thursday when at least five militants were killed when a missile fired from an unmanned plane hit a house in the North Waziristan village of Mohammad Khel, officials said.

Around 3,000 Pakistani tribesmen chanted Allahu akbar and death to America in South Waziristans Wana district after Friday prayers to protest at Wednesdays claimed US-led raid, which involved helicopter gunships and ground troops.

Both the US-led coalition and the separate NATO-led security force operating in Afghanistan have said they have no knowledge of that incident.