Pakistan army clashes with militants, 14 killed

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Aug 4 (Reuters) Pro-Taliban tribesmen attacked a Pakistani army check-post in the troubled North Waziristan region today, killing four soldiers, but 10 militants were killed in the exchange of fire, an army spokesman said.

Four members of the security forces were also wounded in the pre-dawn clash in the Dosali area, some 40 km south of Miranshah, the main town of the tribal region bordering Afghanistan, Major-General Waheed Arshad said.

''Militants fired about 50 rockets on a check-post complex at around 0300 hours (0330 hrs IST) and then they carried out a physical attack on the check-post,'' he told Reuters.

''Four security forces were killed and four wounded, while 10 militants were also killed in the attack.'' Violence has intensified in Pakistan, especially in its northwest tribal region since a military assault on a radical Islamabad mosque last month.

North Waziristan is regarded as a hotbed of al Qaeda and Taliban support. Pro-Taliban Pakistani militants abandoned a peace pact in the semi-autonomous tribal region last month, adding to growing concern over a deteriorating security situation in the country, particularly the volatile northwest.

The army has erected more check-posts and carried out more patrols in North Waziristan, but it has yet to launch an offensive.

Arshad said the latest clash lasted about two hours and militants were seen carrying four to five bodies while fleeing.

REUTERS SS BD1052