Militants kill Pakistani tribal chief in Waziristan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, May 19 (Reuters) Suspected militants linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban killed a pro-government tribal chieftain in Pakistan's troubled North Waziristan region today, security officials said.

The chieftain was kidnapped and his body was later dumped near Miranshah, the main town in the semi-autonomous tribal region area, where Pakistani forces are waging a campaign against al Qaeda fighters and Taliban supporters among the tribes.

''Malik Taji was killed by a burst of Kalashnikov fire after militants kidnapped him at a place some 20 km (13 miles) east of Miranshah,'' one of the officials said.

Taji belonged to the Darpakhel tribe from the ethnic Pashtun tribal belt that straddles the border with Afghanistan.

On Tuesday, eight pro-Taliban militants and a Pakistani trooper were killed in a clash after the rebels ambushed a paramilitary vehicle southwest of Miranshah.

Clashes between security forces and militants have intensified since an airstrike on an al Qaeda compound in early March.

Altogether, security forces have killed over 300 militants, including around 75 foreigners, in North Waziristan since the middle of last year.

Many al Qaeda militants and their Taliban allies took refuge in Pakistan's border areas after being driven out of Afghanistan by US-backed forces following the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.

REUTERS SHB BD2037