MIRANSHAH, 20 June 2007 — A missile attack killed more than 20 people and wounded 10 in a Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border yesterday, Pakistani intelligence officials said. Another report put the death toll at 32.

Three missiles struck a madrasa being used as a training camp by militants in Mamy Rogha, a village near Datta Khel district, 60 km west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

Pakistan Army had not carried out any operations in the area, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said, adding that initial reports suggested the explosion occurred while the militants were making a bomb. An intelligence official said the missiles fired from Afghanistan destroyed the training facility in North Waziristan.

“The blast happened when these militants were making bombs, and there were several casualties,” Arshad said.

Other Pakistani intelligence officials, who also requested anonymity, said the compound lay about three kilometers inside Pakistan and was surrounded by forests. The officials said some militants were sitting in an open area of the madrasa when they were attacked, but they could not confirm whether the missiles were fired from Afghanistan.

The US military in Afghanistan said it had no reports of missiles being fired across the border.

“I am not aware of any reports of any missiles being fired from Afghanistan into Pakistan,” said Lt. Col. David Accetta, spokesman for the US-led coalition in Afghanistan. “Pakistan is a sovereign nation, and we respect sovereignty,” he said.

Several raids on suspected terror targets in Pakistan were launched from Afghanistan in the past.