Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

At Least 50 Soldiers Missing After Violent Clashes in North Pakistan

By VOA News
08 October 2007

Pakistan's military says at least 50 soldiers are missing Monday after clashes with Islamic militants in the North Waziristan tribal region.

Sixty militants and 20 soldiers were reported killed in Sunday's fighting near the Afghan border.

Army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad says security forces backed by helicopter gunships attacked the pro-Taleban militants after they ambushed a military convoy Saturday evening near the town of Mir Ali.

Local residents say at least four civilians died in the fighting, but the military could not confirm the claims.

Later, militants attacked a military convoy in the Hasu Khel area of the same region.

Violence has been escalating in Pakistan's tribal regions bordering Afghanistan since July, when a peace pact with militants broke down in North Waziristan, and army commandos stormed a radical mosque in the capital, Islamabad.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.