18 Militants Slain by Pakistani Forces

Pakistani security forces killed at least 18 pro-Taliban militants in a gun battle Tuesday in the unruly North Waziristan tribal region, security officials said.

The battle followed an earlier raid by militants on a security post in the Nariwala area on Razmak-Miram Shah road, killing one paramilitary soldier and wounding three, a security official in Peshawar said.

He said troops intercepted a car and a pickup truck that they believed were used in the attack on the security post.

“The pickup truck turned turtle, while the speedy car was targeted,” the official said.

Helicopter gunships were called in from a military base to intercept the attackers and the area was searched.

Sources, quoting local residents, said heavy gunfire continued for more than four hours while security forces cordoned off the area. They said 18 militants were killed in the encounter and troops seized an undisclosed amount of weapons.

They said nine bodies were brought to the military base in Miram Shah, the administrative center of North Waziristan, but had not been identified.

Fresh clashes erupted as the government announced that it would convene a grand council to find a way to end insurgency in the tribal area, where the army said 324 militants were killed during the last nine months.

In another incident, two tribal security personnel were shot dead in the Miram Shah bazaar Monday, witnesses said.