Militants ambush Pak army convoy

The convoy came under attack on Monday in the mountains near the main town of Miranshah while heading toward Beermal on the Afghan border.

Four soldiers and three militants were killed.

"They first detonated an explosive with remote control on the roadside and then opened fire on the convoy," an intelligence official told Reuters.

He said eight soldiers were wounded in the fighting that lasted for an hour.

"Miscreants attacked a convoy of security forces late Monday that resulted in some casualties," chief military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told AFP.

Local officials said the clash left two soldiers and three militants dead and on Tuesday, helicopter gunships pounded Pyekhel village, the launching point for the militants' attack.

Also late Monday, security forces in Miranshah opened fire on a group of militants after they fired several rockets at a paramilitary checkpost.

The retaliatory fire resulted in the death of a tribesman, who was one of a group of locals watching a football match in the suburbs of the town, a local official said.

The rugged Waziristan region has been scene of fierce battles between Islamist militants and security forces over the past two years. Close to 300 people have been killed in clashes in recent weeks.

Many al-Qaeda militants and their Taliban allies fled to Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt after they were chased out of Afghanistan by US-backed forces in 2001. al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is believed to have passed through Waziristan during his escape.