A suspected U.S. missile strike killed 12 people in northwestern Pakistan, intelligence officials said — the latest in a spate of attacks close to the Afghan border that have squeezed al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Such strikes have killed high-ranking militant commanders, including Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, but have also killed civilians and drawn protest from Pakistani leaders.

Two intelligence officials said the latest strike took place late Thursday near the town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan tribal region. They said 12 people were killed in the attack, but gave no information on their identities.

They said the strike took place in the village of Dande Darpa Khel, which is reputed to be a stronghold of Jalaluddin Haqqani, an insurgent commander blamed for many of the most deadly attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Despite Pakistani protests, Washington has shown no sign of abandoning the attacks. Many analysts believe Pakistani security agencies quietly provide intelligence for the strikes.

Militants hide in mountains

The border region provides Islamist militants with a safe haven from which they can stage attacks on foreign forces in Afghanistan. The mountainous, lawless area is also a breeding ground for the insurgents who launch near-daily attacks on Pakistan's U.S.-backed government and security forces.

Earlier Thursday, militants ambushed a convoy of prominent anti-Taliban tribal elders in the northwest, spraying their cars with gunfire and killing nine people, police said.

The members of the anti-Taliban citizens' group were travelling from the Machikhel area to meet security officials in Bannu district when their three-vehicle convoy was attacked by insurgents, police officer Mohammad Ghani Khan said.

Pakistani authorities have urged tribal elders to speak out against the Taliban, and in turn the militants have killed scores of local leaders. With government backing, some elders have raised militias, known as lashkars, to battle the insurgents. The militias have been compared to Iraq's Awakening Councils, which helped U.S. forces turn the tide against al-Qaeda there.

The ambush followed a separate attack by militants who killed two members of another anti-Taliban committee Thursday in the Swat Valley to the northeast. The assailants struck as members of the "peace committee" slept in the Sertelegram area, Mayor Mohammad Ibrar Khan said.