Pakistan attack kills 'militants'

At least 12 suspected militants have died in a missile attack in north-west Pakistan, local officials said.

The attack took place after midnight in Khushali Torikhel village in the troubled North Waziristan district.

Meanwhile, a Pakistani soldier was killed in fighting between security forces and militants in South Waziristan district, the military said.

The clashes come a day after armed men captured and later released about 250 schoolchildren in Bannu district.

"A missile came from an unknown direction on Monday night and hit a house, after which 12 people have died," a local administration official was quoted by news agency AFP as saying.

Intelligence officials said the dead were pro-Taleban militants, the agency reported.

But residents said the dead were tribesmen staying at the house of a local elder in the village which is on the outskirts of the town of Mir Ali.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7214664.stm