Meanwhile, intelligence officials said that a suspected U.S. missile strike in a nearby tribal region had killed five people, but none was believed to be a foreign al-Qaida fighter.

Pakistan’s Frontier Corps, in a vague, two-sentence press release Sunday, said its paramilitary troops killed 27 alleged insurgents, including two "important commanders," in the Orakzai tribal region. The clashes followed Friday’s suicide bombing in Orakzai that killed dozens of anti-Taliban tribesmen.

The statement claimed a dozen suicide bombers were among those killed Sunday by the security forces. Frontier Corps officials could not immediately be reached for more details.