Roadside bomb wounds six Pakistani soldiers

Peshawar (Pakistan), July 31: A roadside bomb blast struck a paramilitary vehicle in Pakistan's nothwestern district of Tank today and wounded six soldiers, two of them seriously, officials said.

The vehicle carrying Frontier Constabulary troops was heading to South Waziristan tribal region, near the Afghan border and regarded as a hotbed of support for al Qaeda and Taliban militants, when the explosion occured.

''The device was remote-controlled and at the moment, we have reports of six wounded,'' said a senior police officer, Mumtaz Zareen.

A military official said two of the soldiers were in serious condition.

Meanwhile, fighting broke out between security forces and militants in a village in neighbouring North Waziristan but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The clashes came a day after seven people were killed in militant attacks in the region.

''Both sides are using heavy weapons,'' said a resident of Miranshah, North Waziristan's main town.

Pakistan has seen a massive increase in violence, especially in tribal areas on the Afghan border, since security forces stormed the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, in the capital Islamabad.

Nearly 200 people have died in militant violence since the army attack on the mosque complex, a militant Islamist centre, on July 10. More than 100 people died in the assault.

At the weekend, dozens of heavily armed masked militants seized a mosque and shrine in Mohmand tribal region and named the mosque after the Lal Masjid.

The government has called a jirga or traditional council of tribal elders to persuade the militants to vacate the compound.

Adding to the tension in Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf has been under increasing pressure from the United States, an important ally and aid source, to step up action against Taliban and al Qaeda elements in the border areas.

Movement of military and paramilitary convoys in and around those regions has become more frequent and check-posts have been reinforced, although the government has not linked the steps to Washington's demands.

REUTERS >