Ten militants killed in Pakistan strike

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Aug 7 (Reuters) Pakistani security forces, backed by helicopter gunships, attacked two militant hideouts near the border with Afghanistan today, killing at least 10 militants, the military said.

The pre-dawn offensive in Degan area, some 25 km (17 miles) west of North Waziristan's main town of Miranshah, destroyed the fortress-like compounds used by pro-Taliban militants, Major General Waheed Arshad told Reuters.

''Local sources have told us that at least 10 local militants have been killed and seven have been wounded,'' Arshad said.

An intelligence official in Miranshah said they had reports that 27 militants had been killed.

North Waziristan is regarded as a hotbed of support for the Taliban and al Qaeda, and an army offensive has been anticipated there since militants last month abandoned a 10-month old peace pact struck with the government.

''As soon as firing began we ran out and during that a bomb hit our house,'' Attaullah Jan, one of the wounded, said from a hospital bed.

U S officials have said they expect Pakistan to strike at select targets in the region, where they say al Qaeda has regrouped and is planning for operations elsewhere in the world.

There have been several clashes between Pakistani troops and militants in the past few weeks as the army steps up activities by reinforcing checkposts and carrying out more patrols.

Militants have struck back with a series of attacks, sometimes using suicide bombers, in Waziristan and elsewhere in North West Frontier Province.

There were also two suicide attacks last month in the capital Islamabad, where security has been stepped up in the aftermath of an army siege and assault on Red Mosque, or Lal Masjid, to stamp out a Taliban-style movement.

Separately, militants fired rockets on a paramilitary post near Miranshah town, killing one soldier, witnesses said.

Security forces have arrested 14 suspected al Qaeda-linked militants, including Uzbeks and Tajiks, trying to sneak into southwestern Baluchistan province from the South Waziristan tribal region, intelligence officials said.

More than 200 people have been killed in bomb attacks and clashes between militants and security forces since trouble broke out at the Red Mosque in early July, while at least 102 people were killed in the fighting at the mosque itself.

REUTERS AE HT2215