At least six people have been killed after a missile allegedly fired from Afghanistan hit a house in a Pakistani tribal area, Pakistani officials say.

The missile struck a house adjacent to a mosque in Azam Warsak village in the district of South Waziristan early on Monday, a senior security official told the AFP news agency.

"Six people are dead in a missile attack according to our initial reports," he said.

The official said it was not immediately clear if the missile  was launched by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan or international forces fighting them.

Pakistan has protested over a wave of missile strikes attributed to US-led forces in Afghanistan in recent months which have killed a number of people.

Residents said the house where the missiles struck belonged to local tribesman Malik Salat and that suspected pro-Taliban fighters used to stay there.

Several villagers said they heard jets approaching from Afghanistan before the strike.

Previous protests
  
Pakistan has protested over a wave of missile strikes attributed to US-led forces in Afghanistan in recent months which have killed local people.

The latest killings took place hours before the scheduled talks between George Bush, the US president, and Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Pakistani prime minister, at the White House.

Bush said he was "troubled" by the movement of extremists from Pakistan to Afghanistan and would discuss the threat with Gilani.

This is Gilani's first White House visit since taking office in March.