Taliban gunmen stormed a Pakistani checkpoint in the country's
lawless tribal belt, killing one soldier and sparking clashes in which
up to 20 militants died, according to officials.
Five soldiers
and five civilians were also wounded after the militants on Tuesday
attacked the Dabori post manned by paramilitary troops in the tribal
district of Orakzai, the officials said.
"At least 20 militants
have been killed in the pre-dawn clash," a military official told AFP
by telephone. Their bodies were spotted during a search carried out by
helicopter gunships, he said, requesting anonymity.
There was no
independent confirmation of the death toll because neither journalists
nor aid workers are allowed free movement within the semi-autonomous
tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.
Local administration official Ehsanullah Khan told AFP that around 100 Taliban loyalists attacked the checkpoint.
"They
stormed the check post and killed one soldier and wounded five others,"
he said. A shell landed on a nearby house, injuring five civilians,
Khan added.
Sporadic exchanges of gunfire continued late into the morning, he added.
The
Pakistani military last year launched an operation against militants in
Orakzai, which for two years was dominated by the Pakistani Taliban,
blamed for most of the suicide and bomb attacks that routinely hit the
country.
Orakzai is one of seven districts in Pakistan's
northwestern tribal belt which the United States has described as most
dangerous region in the world and a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda.
Pakistani
Taliban chief Hakeemullah Mehsud served as commander of Orakzai before
becoming leader of the umbrella faction after a US drone strike killed
its founder Baitullah Mehsud. AFP
