41 militants, two troops die in Pakistan fighting

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PARACHINAR, Pakistan, Apr 12 (AP): More than 100 militants armed with rockets and automatic weapons attacked two security checkpoints in northwestern Pakistan Monday, sparking intense fighting that left at least 41 insurgents and two soldiers dead, officials said.
The clashes were the latest violence in the Orakzai tribal region, where the military launched an operation in March to rout Pakistani Taliban fighters who have fled there to escape other offensives. More than 300 suspected militants have been killed in three weeks of constant airstrikes and occasional ground clashes.
The U.S. has applauded Pakistan's push to go after militants in the volatile border area near Afghanistan. But American officials would like the country to do more to target those fighters who have been staging cross-border attacks against U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan.
Security forces successfully repelled the attacks early Monday morning against checkpoints in the villages of Shireen Dara and Sangrana in Lower Orakzai, local administrator Samiullah Khan said. Three soldiers were wounded in the fighting, he said.