attack on the house of a cleric in Asori village in

North Waziristan.

“He was involved in cross-border movement and attacks carried out with explosive devices. He belonged to Al Qaeda but was not a significant leader,” the official said.Local people said two missiles hit the compound of Maulvi Amanullah of Dawar tribe, four kilometres south of Mirali. A vehicle, stated to be of Abu Akash, parked outside the compound was destroyed.

They said Abu Akash had come to the place but they were not sure if he was there at the time of the attack.

They said drones had been buzzing overhead throughout the day and residents had fired at them with light and heavy weapons.

“Two loud explosions were heard in Asori village while drones were flying over the area,” said a villager. He said rescue efforts were under way and the death toll could rise.

A son of Abu Akash was killed with Al Qaeda leader Abu Hamza Rabia in a missile attack in the same village on Nov 30, 2005.

Abu Akash was also known as Haji Akasha Khan and Iraqi Malang. He spoke Pashto fluently.

Sources said Abu Akash was Al Qaeda`s chief of financial affairs in the region and had set up his headquarters in Mirali subdivision. In a video released in April this year he had stated that Jihad against the United States would continue in the region.

He had arrived in Afghanistan in 1996 and had moved to Mirali area before the 9/11 attacks. He was a known figure in the area and for some time also directed traffic and fined erring motorists.

Local people said he had been keeping a low profile since the signing of a peace agreement between local tribes and the government in September 2006.

He is reported to have developed differences with local Taliban leader Maulvi Sadiq Noor who objected to his interference in the affairs of the tribes. An exchange of fire had also taken place between their supporters. The differences were resolved by some Taliban figures.

Soon after the missile attack in Asori village, two missiles hit a residential compound near Wana in South Waziristan.

Sources said the missiles struck the house of one Sher Zaman in Doug area near the Scouts camp, leaving one person dead and two others injured.

There were unconfirmed reports about presence in the compound of pro-government Taliban commander for South Waziristan, Maulvi Mohammad Nazir.

AFP adds A security official said 12 suspected militants, among them foreigners, had been killed in the South Waziristan attack.

LONDON, Oct 31 A country should have the right to attack another if it is harbouring a potential terrorist threat, according to the US homeland security chief.

In remarks appearing to justify recent US raids in Pakistan and Syria, Michael Chertoff said international law should accommodate a country`s need to deter a possible threat abroad even if it meant taking pre-emptive action. His comments follow recent secret raids by US forces into Pakistan and Syria that drew condemnation from those countries.

Laying out what amounts to a broadened definition of self-defence, he said at a discussion on democracy held in the British parliament “International law must begin to recognise that part of the responsibility of sovereignty is the responsibility to make sure that your own country does not become a platform for attacking other countries.

“There are areas of the world that are ungoverned or ungovernable but nevertheless technically within the sovereignty of boundaries. Does that mean we simply have to allow terrorists to operate there, in kind of badlands, where they can plan, they can set up laboratories, they can experiment with chemical weapons and with biological weapons?”

His remarks, challenged by some members of parliament in the audience, follow comments made by US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates on Tuesday in which he said Washington would hold countries fully accountable for their actions.

Gates` remarks, made to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, included a warning that the United States should modernise its nuclear arsenal as a hedge against “rogue nations”.

The expanded definition of what constitutes self-defence and could be permitted under the concept of deterrence has important implications for US foreign policy at a time when it is engaged in two wars in unstable regions and when it has expressed frequent concern about Iran`s actions.

Chertoff described a world in which the United States, and other democracies, were facing extraordinary threats that required them to be super-vigilant and responsive. Waiting to see if others would attack was not good enough, he claimed.

“If country X, within its borders, is openly tolerating or incapable of managing a location where people are consistently attacking a neighbour, is it sufficient to say, `well, it`s within their sovereign territory, nobody can do anything about it`? I think that`s not true and I think there`s a serious question about whether that`s what the law ought to be.

“The larger question of the responsibility to make sure your own country is not a platform for attacking others is a matter that needs to be seriously considered in terms of what the law should be,” he said.—Reuters