British terror suspect thought dead

Relatives of Rashid Rauf, who escaped from custody in Pakistan last year, were said to be distraught at reports that he was among five people killed by the attack in the tribal North Waziristan region.

The British Foreign Office said it was still investigating the reports and could not confirm whether Rauf, who is originally from Birmingham, had been killed.

But Pakistan's government confirmed that Rashid Rauf and a Saudi militant called Abu Zubair al-Masri were the apparent targets of the pre-dawn strike near the border with Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, it emerged that members of Rauf's family were "in the dark" about his fate and were making desperate attempts to establish whether he was still alive.

Rauf's family had little comment to make at their terraced home opposite a children's play area in the Ward End area of Birmingham.

"I am angry," a man who emerged from the property said as he ordered the media to leave. "For your own safety, all I can say to you is goodbye."

Rauf was suspected of having links to an alleged plot in 2006 to bring down up to 10 transatlantic passenger jets. He was arrested in Pakistan in 2006 following an apparent tip-off from British anti-terrorism officers, days before a series of raids in the UK which were followed by the tightening of hand baggage restrictions on flights.

Reports in Pakistan suggest that Rauf - who escaped from custody outside an Islamabad court last December - was killed by an attack involving a pilot-less drone aircraft on the village of Ali Khel.

Thought to be aged in his mid-20s, Rauf is believed to hold both British and Pakistani citizenship and was wanted by West Midlands Police in connection with the death of his uncle in 2002.