Attackers fired rockets at a military post in a Pakistani tribal region near Afghanistan, killing seven soldiers and injuring two others, officials said today.

It appears unlikely that Osama bin Laden, if still alive, is in full command of the al-Qaida terrorist network, according to US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Osama bin Laden may no longer have operational control of his terror network, the US ambassador to Pakistan told a gathering of local journalists today, according to two Pakistani television channels.

A senior al-Qaida operative has died in an explosion in a north-western Pakistan tribal area, the president said today.