Pakistani troops kill eight militants in tribal region

Nov 29, 2009, 12:22 GMT

Islamabad - Pakistani troops killed eight militants in the country's restive tribal region near the Afghan border on Sunday, officials said.

Security forces have engaged Islamist insurgents on several fronts in the tribal belt in recent weeks amid a deadly wave of retaliatory attacks in Pakistani towns and cities, which have killed hundreds of people.

Paramilitary soldiers pressed ahead with their assault Sunday in Khyber, a lawless north-western territory that hosts the main land route for supplies destined for the US and NATO forces deployed in Afghanistan.

'Four militants were killed and many more injured in gunfights in the Bara area,' said Major Fazlur Rehman, a spokesman for the Frontier Corps paramilitary force.

Rehman said several militant positions fell to the troops, who were supported by attack helicopters and artillery.

Hundreds of soldiers launched the operation in Khyber earlier this week against rebels linked to Lashkar-e-Islam militant group, which is blamed for a spate of suicide bombings in the main north-western city of Peshawar in recent days.

The terrorist strikes come in retaliation for the military offensive in the Taliban heartland of South Waziristan, which also borders Afghanistan.

Nearly 30,000 troops have captured most of the militant strongholds since launching the offensive, codenamed Path to Deliverance, on October 17.

The army says more than 600 militants and at least 70 soldiers have been killed. The figures are hard to verify independently as the combat zone is largely closed to journalists.

Private Geo News television channel reported on Sunday that four militants were killed when they attacked a paramilitary camp in the town of Laddah. One soldier was critically wounded in the assault.

The United States has backed Pakistan's actions in the tribal region, as it plans to bolster its forces in Afghanistan to battle the growing Taliban insurgency.