The Pakistani government accused the US of sabotaging peace talks with domestic Taliban fighters by killing their leader in a drone strike, as the militants began the process of choosing a successor.

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

A rocket was fired at a building in Pakistan’s remote tribal belt, where US special forces hunting remaining Taliban and al Qaida fighters are believed to be staying, a local official said today.