The house belonged to Ameerud Din, the top administrator of the Khyber Tribal region in North West Frontier Province, bordering Afghanistan.

Din was not home at the time, but his brother, who also is a government servant, was among those killed. Authorities said the dead included six members of the same family and seven guests.

"The attackers fired rockets, threw hand grenades and used guns" for about 30 minutes before fleeing, said Sanaullah Khan, an area police chief.

Two others were injured in the attack near the village of Guman, 12 miles from the troubled town of Tank.

Tank lies in a swath of territory near the Afghan border where Islamic militants have challenged the government's authority with increasing success over the past year.