The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Islamabad

Pakistan investigated reports Tuesday that a senior al-Qaida figure was among six people killed in a suspected U.S. missile strike amid anger that the attack had violated the Islamic nation's sovereignty.

Pakistan's army said it had not confirmed that Monday's strike killed al-Qaida operative Abu Khabab al-Masri, described by Washington as an expert who trained terrorists in the use of poisons and explosives.

But two Pakistani intelligence officials said they believed al-Masri had died and an American official in Washington expressed cautious optimism. The U.S. is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.

"There is a real sense that this guy is gone," the American official said. But he cautioned that there was no material evidence yet to confirm al-Masri's death, such as a photograph of the dead man at the bomb site.

The pre-dawn strike on a border village in the South Waziristan tribal region came hours before Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met with President Bush at the White House.

There is increasing pressure from the West on the four-month-old Pakistan government to act against Taliban and al-Qaida strongholds in its frontier region with Afghanistan amid concern that peace deals have given militants more freedom to operate.