Pakistani forces kill 10 pro-Taliban militants

Miranshah (Pakistan), Sept 9: Pakistani security forces killed 10 pro-Taliban militants today after they tried to attack a military convoy near the Afghan border, an army spokesman said.

The clash took place in the Shawal area, 70 km southwest of Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan region, a hotbed of support for al Qaeda and the Taliban.

''The exchange of fire broke out when militants tried to attack our convoy and our forces reacted,'' said military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad.

Seven soldiers were wounded, he said.

Intelligence officials in North Waziristan said the militants had managed to capture about 35 soldiers from five vehicles but Arshad said he had no information about that.

Many al Qaeda and Taliban members took refuge in Waziristan and other areas along the Pakistani side of the border after US and Afghan opposition forces ousted Afghanistan's Taliban government in 2001.

Pakistani forces have tried to clear out the foreign militants and subdue their Pakistani allies and the region has been plagued by intermittent violence since then.

But violence has surged since July when a 10-month peace pact with militants in North Waziristan broke down and commandos stormed a radical mosque in Islamabad where militants linked to Waziristan were based.

While most of the violence has been in the northwest, suicide bombers have killed more than 50 people in the capital Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi, home to army headquarters.

In South Waziristan, tribal elders are trying to secure the release of 240 soldiers captured by militants late last month.

The militants, who are demanding the withdrawal of troops from the region, released six of the captured soldiers last week.

US officials say al Qaeda and Taliban fighters are able to regroup and plot attacks from the Pakistani border lands.

Reuters
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