ISLAMABAD - SUSPECTED US missiles pounded militant hideouts on Thursday in the tribal belt near Afghanistan where Pakistani troops are building up for a major offensive against the country's top Taleban leader.

The strikes, which killed at least nine people and were described by Pakistani officials and witnesses as coming from unmanned drone aircraft, appeared not to be directly connected to Pakistan's preparations in South Waziristan.

But they came as Pakistan's military on Thursday continued its own airstrikes and shelling, which for days has pummeled suspected militant positions ahead of an expected attack by ground forces.

The military said it had killed another 34 militants in its separate, seven-week-old offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley region.

Washington strongly backs Pakistan's recent efforts to confront the Taliban head-on after years of failed offensives and unsuccessful peace deals.

But officials on both sides have been careful to avoid suggestions America is directly involved in any military campaign - something that triggers nationalist anger in Pakistan.

Pakistan says the operation against Pakistani Taleban leader Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan is in its preparatory stages only, and its attacks on militant strongholds are in retaliation for militant attacks on security forces.

Officials have conceded Pakistan is coordinating with US forces in Afghanistan about cutting off potential escape routes into Afghanistan for al-Qaida and Taleban fighters who are believed to have made bases in the tribal region.

In Thursday's suspected US strikes, Shahab Ali Shah, the top administrative official in South Waziristan, said missiles hit close to the villages of Gharlamai and Nandaran.

Two Pakistani intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to talk to the media, said a training center of Taleban commander Malang Wazir between the two villages was the target, and that nine people were killed. -- AP