Pakistani helicopter gunships hit guerrilla compound

ISLAMABAD, Apr 12 (Reuters) Pakistani army helicopter gunships killed a number of foreign militants today in a night time strike on their compound in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan, a military spokesman said.

''The operation was successful. It is now over,'' Major-General Shaukat Sultan told Reuters.

''We have confirmed reports that a few foreign militants were killed in the compound but details are still coming.'' The military used Cobra helicopter gunships in the attack on the hideout in a village called Nagar, six km south of Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, a restive region where the army has been fighting al Qaeda and Taliban guerrillas and their sympathisers among the local Pashtun tribes.

The attack occurred at around 2345 hrs IST, and the helicopters were ordered into the air after the military received information about the presence of foreign fighters, Sultan said.

A military campaign to rid the tribal areas of al Qaeda switched to North Waziristan from South Waziristan last year, and there have been a series of fierce clashes in the past month.

The army has used artillery and helicopter gunships to quell pro-Taliban tribals and around 250 people have been killed since early March.

Violence escalated after Pakistani special forces blasted an al Qaeda base used by Chechen, Afghan and Central Asian militants, but tribesmen said innocent villagers were also killed.

Last week the army said it killed at least 40 militants in a counter-offensive after four troopers were killed in a rocket attack at their post in the Shawal area of North Waziristan.

Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt has been infested with al Qaeda remnants and Taliban who fled Afghanistan after US-led forces toppled the Taliban regime in 2001.

President Pervez Musharraf, a key ally in the US-led war on terrorism, last month warned foreign militants hiding in the tribal region to leave Pakistan or face annihilation.

REUTERS SHR BD0104