Pakistani officials say the death toll from today's (Tuesday's) attack on a village near the Afghan border has risen to at least nine people.
The officials say five others were wounded when suspected al-Qaeda militants fired rockets on a gathering of tribal elders (in the village of Sheikh Ziarat) in South Waziristan. The group was meeting to discuss ways to evict foreign militants from the area.
A nearby mountain town (Spinkai Raghzai) is believed to be a hideout of al-Qaida-linked militant leader and former Guantanamo Bay prisoner, Abdullah Mehsud. South Waziristan is also considered a possible hideout for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
The region has been the scene of heavy fighting between Pakistan's security forces and al-Qaida-linked militants since March. The army says at least 246 militants and about 171 members of the security forces have been killed.