Pakistan Troops Kill 19 Militants in N.Waziristan

Pakistani security forces killed six pro-Taliban militants in fighting in North Waziristan on Sunday, the military said, after overnight battles left 13 rebels dead.

Violence has intensified in the volatile tribal region on the border with Afghanistan after militants tore up a peace deal with the government last week.

A gun battle broke out between the security forces and the militants on Sunday after five soldiers were wounded in a roadside bomb blast near Miranshah, North Waziristan's main town.

"Six militants were killed in that clash," military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad told Reuters.

Residents said army helicopter gunships also fired at militant hideouts during the fighting.

The security forces killed another 13 militants in overnight clashes in Ghulam Khan area, 15 km (10 miles) north of Miranshah towards the Afghan border.

Armed militants, in small groups, attempted to attack several army posts in the area but security forces foiled their bid.

Seven militants were arrested while soldiers suffered no losses in these clashes, Arshad said.

Pakistan's Waziristan region has long been regarded as a safe haven for al Qaeda and Taliban militants sheltered by their local Pashtun allies.

Pakistani authorities struck a deal with the local militants last September in a bid to isolate foreign militants and curb their cross-border incursions into Afghanistan.

But the militants scrapped the deal last week, adding to a concern over a deteriorating security situation in the region.

AL QAEDA GAINING STRENGTH

U.S. President George W. Bush said on Saturday he was troubled by a U.S. intelligence report that al Qaeda was gaining strength in the Pakistani tribal region.

In his taped weekly radio address, Bush said Pakistani tribal leaders had proven unwilling or unable to police the area themselves.

However, he said ally Pakistan was committed to fighting militants. "President Pervez Musharraf recognises the agreement has not been successful or well-enforced and is taking active steps to correct."

The U.S. report made public this week found a "persistent and evolving" threat to the United States from Islamic militant groups, especially Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda.

U.S. officials have said the United States never ruled out any options when it came to striking against al Qaeda or the Taliban.

Pakistan rejected the statements as "irresponsible and dangerous" and said only its own troops could carry out counter-terrorism actions on its soil.

The militants have launched several attacks and ambushes in North Waziristan since the scrapping of the peace deal.

They were also enraged over the storming of a radical mosque in the capital, Islamabad, this month by army commandos, and have carried out a series of bomb and suicide attacks across the country to avenge the assault.