Suicide attacks kill six in NW Pakistan

MIRANSHAH, Aug 24 (Reuters) A suicide car bomber killed five Pakistani soldiers and wounded 30 today in an attack on a military convoy in troubled North Waziristan region near the Afghan border, a military spokesman said.

Hours later, another suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into a military convoy killing one soldier and wounding three in the same region, a military official said.

The attacks are the latest in a wave of violence that has struck Pakistan since last month when a 10-month peace deal with militants broke down in North Waziristan and commandos stormed a mosque in the capital to crush a Taliban-style movement.

The first attack happened near the town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan. The second one was 35 km south of Miranshah, North Waziristan's main town, military officials said.

Army helicopter gunships later opened fire near Mir Ali, apparently at militant hideouts, residents of the area said.

More than 200 people, most of them soldiers and policemen, have been killed since last month. The majority of the deaths occurred in Waziristan and other parts of the northwest.

Many al Qaeda and Taliban members took refuge in Waziristan and other remote, rugged regions on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border after US and Afghan opposition forces defeated the Taliban government in Afghanistan in late 2001.

Despite Pakistani efforts to clear out foreign militants and subdue their Pakistani allies, US security officials say Waziristan and other border areas are sanctuaries for al Qaeda and the Taliban where they can regroup and plot violence.

REUTERS PD BD2001