Taliban commander's son 'killed in missile strike'

The son of a senior Afghan Taliban commander has been killed in a US missile strike, Pakistani officials said today.

Mohammed Haqqani and three other close associates of the Taliban leader were killed when missiles struck a house in the Dande Darpa Khel area of North Waziristan, in north west Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan.

Officials said the attack was apparently aimed at Siraj Haqqani, a top Taliban commander with suspected close ties to al-Qaida, who is accused of masterminding ambushes of American troops in Afghanistan.

They said it was not known if Siraj Haqqani was hurt in the strike.