The US has confirmed that American troops are holding a senior Pakistani Taliban commander.

A US missile strike killed eight alleged militants in northwest Pakistan yesterday on the final day of a year that has seen a major escalation in drone attacks targeting insurgents flowing into neighbouring Afghanistan.

A US missile strike has killed eight alleged militants in north-west Pakistan, intelligence officials say.

Suspected Islamic militants beheaded an Afghan refugee they accused of spying for the US, a Pakistani intelligence official said today.