DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistani intelligence officials say at least 12 people are dead as a result of two suspected U.S. missile strikes.

The strikes came in villages near the border with Afghanistan. The intelligence officials say most of the dead were militants.

U.S. forces recently boosted their cross-border operations against Taliban and al-Qaida militants in Pakistan's border zone with Afghanistan. It's a region considered a likely hiding place for Osama bin Laden.

According to the officials, two missiles believed to have been fired from U.S. unmanned drones that were launched from Afghanistan hit the villages just before dusk. They say a missile strike in one village killed at least 12 people, while there were no reported casualties in the other.

Earlier this week, officials said a suspected U.S. missile strike on a Taliban commander's home in Pakistan killed six people.

Pakistan says the attacks often bring civilian casualties, and have the effect of fanning extremism. U.S. officials have complained that Pakistan won't act against the militants.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)