Pak troops blow up madrassa near Afghan border

The Khalifa Madrassa in the restive North Waziristan district was seized by troops and blown up, becoming the third religious seminary to be demolished in the area in the past fortnight.

The action followed fierce clashes between Pakistani paramilitary soldiers and Taliban-supporing tribesmen that have left around 170 militants and five troops dead.

"The Khalifa Madrassa was destroyed by security forces today as part of a campaign to deprive militants of any hideout," a local official told AFP in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan.

The school was unoccupied at the time, officials said.

The madrassa was set up by Khalifa, an Islamic cleric from Afghanistan who died several years ago but who was an associate of former Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, local officials said.