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Khar: At least seven Pakistani troops and thirty militants have been killed in two days of clashes in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan, the army said on Friday.
Helicopter gunships pounded militant positions yesterday as fierce gunbattles resumed between Taliban rebels and troops in the semi-autonomous Bajaur tribal district, a known hideout for Taliban and Al Qaida rebels.
"Seven Pakistani troops have been martyred and 30 militants have been killed in clashes at Loisam and its surrounding areas since Thursday," chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said. "Security forces and militants exchanged fire throughout the day Friday as the operation continued against militants in Bajaur region," he added.
The clashes began on Wednesday when hundreds of militants attacked a security checkpost in Loisam which paramilitary troops had recently reoccupied after a period of several months. Loisam lies on the strategically important road leading towards the main northwestern city of Peshawar.
Beheadings
Taliban militants in Bajaur also beheaded two men and shot dead a third accusing them of spying on the rebels, officials and witnesses said yesterday.
The bodies of the three men were found dumped by a road with notes saying "these people were spying on Taliban movement fighters," an official said.
Pakistan is under mounting international pressure to crack down on militants in the northwest and the tribal zone amid a surge in cross-border rebel attacks on international forces in Afghanistan.
Lahore arrests
Elsewhere in Pakistan, police said they have arrested eight suspected militants and seized four suicide jackets and bomb-making material in raids on militant hide-outs in the eastern city of Lahore.
Lahore's police chief, Pervez Rathore, said the arrests were made this week. The men allegedly wanted to target important installations and kidnap influential people.
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