The al-Qaida mastermind behind the 1998 bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania was killed this week at a security checkpoint in Mogadishu by Somali forces who did not immediately realise they had killed the most wanted man in East Africa, officials said today.

The United States fired missiles at three suspected militant targets in north-west Pakistan today, killing 16 people and keeping the pressure on insurgents days after a strike was believed to have killed a top al-Qaida commander, intelligence officials said.

Police said a bomb has exploded at a bus stand in north west Pakistan, killing six people.

Al-Qaida militant leader Ilyas Kashmiri has been killed in US missile strike in Pakistan, the militant group has confirmed.