Fighting kills 54 including four soldiers in Pakistan

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KHAR, Apr 8 (AFP): Pakistani officials said Friday that 50 militants and four soldiers had been killed in a district where the United States this week criticised the army's efforts to defeat Islamist insurgents. The deaths, which could not be verified independently, were reported in Mohmand, part of Pakistan's lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border singled out for criticism in a White House report flatly rejected by Islamabad. The United States has branded the northwestern tribal area, which lies outside Pakistani government control, a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Local administration official Maqsood Hassan told AFP that militants attacked a security force patrol in the Baizai area of Mohmand, triggering an exchange of fire on Thursday. "Four soldiers and 10 militants were killed in the attack, which was repulsed," Hassan said.