Fresh clashes in Pakistan tribal area

---

MIRANSHAH, July 31(AFP): Pakistani troops traded gunfire with pro- Taliban militants near the Afghan border early today after the rebels launched rockets at government and army buildings, officials said.
There were no reports of casualties from the fighting in the rugged tribal zone of North Waziristan, the latest in a wave of violence across the country since the army stormed a radical Islamabad mosque earlier this month.
One of the rockets damaged a government-run students' hostel in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, while two landed on the lawns of the main military base in the town, local security officials said.
Troops responded by targeting suspected insurgent positions in the surrounding mountains with light and heavy weapons in an exchange of fire that lasted for around three hours, they said.
Army helicopter gunships also flew over the area and the sound of frequent shelling was heard, residents said.
Seven people, including three soldiers, were killed in North Waziristan Monday.
North Waziristan has seen a spike in violence since militants in the area scrapped a peace deal with the government on July 15, five days after the army stormed the Red Mosque in the capital, leaving scores dead.
The United States, Islamabad's key ally, has branded Pakistan's tribal belt a safe haven for Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda movement, a charge that Pakistani officials deny.