Troops raid village in Pakistan

British troops hunting members of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist organisation crossed from southern Afghanistan to search a Pakistani village, it was disclosed in Islamabad.

In an operation that reveals the intensity of the hunt for Bin Laden and his lieutenants, around 20 soldiers in armoured vehicles swooped on the border settlement at Killi Siddiq in the Chaghai district.

According to reports in the Pakistan capital, they identified themselves as British troops and one, who spoke fluent Urdu and the local tribal language Pashto, said they had satellite images showing that al Qaeda men had fled from Afghanistan towards the village, which lies about two miles inside Pakistan.

They reportedly searched houses and combed the surrounding countryside, but found nothing. Chaghai borders the Taliban's heartland in southern Afghanistan and is close to mountain passes used by smugglers. There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan's government but the operation is unlikely to cause serious diplomatic friction.

The hunt for Bin Laden has become the focus of coalition efforts in Afghanistan, with forays on the ground and the continued targeting of al Qaeda installations.

This week, US warplanes destroyed a compound in Kandahar after intelligence reports indicated it was being used by Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Taliban officials said later he was safe and unharmed.