26 killed in Pakistan clashes

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MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Oct 7(AFP): At least 26 people including four civilians were killed Sunday in clashes between militants and soldiers in Pakistan's restive tribal areas, the military and residents said.
Security forces launched an attack against militant bases and hide-outs in the restive North Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan, military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said.
At least 20 militants and two soldiers were killed in the fighting in a mountainous area south of the town of Mir Ali, Arshad said. Six soldiers and 15 militants were wounded.
"We got this information by intercepting the militants' own communications," the general told AFP.
Local residents said four civilians also died, including three women.
The early morning operation was launched in retaliation for overnight attacks by extremists on two military convoys in the region that left two soldiers dead and another 30 wounded, Arshad said.
President Pervez Musharraf has been under mounting pressure to tackle Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants whom US officials allege have regrouped in the tribal areas since fleeing over the Afghan border after the events of 9/11.
Musharraf crushed token rivals in the vote by national and provincial parliaments that was mostly boycotted by the opposition, although the Supreme Court must hear legal challenges before the result is declared official.
Pakistan has suffered a string of extremist attacks since security forces raided the Al-Qaeda linked Red Mosque in Islamabad in July.
Nearly 300 people have died in attacks since the crisis, most of which have been suicide bombings. A further 250 militants have been killed in clashes with security forces since the mosque standoff, the army says.
Pro-Taliban militants have also been holding more than 200 Pakistani soldiers in nearby South Waziristan district since abducting them in late August.
They shot dead three of the soldiers earlier this month to put pressure on the government to halt military operations in the rugged region, officials said.
Pakistan's military has around 90,000 soldiers fighting Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels on the border with Afghanistan.