Militants kidnap four in northwest Pakistan

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A Pakistani pro-Taliban militant in the lawless tribal district of Mohmand bordering Afghanistan. Suspected militants have kidnapped a senior Pakistani army officer and three others in a restive tribal region bordering Afghanistan, officials said.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 25 (Agencies): Pakistan - Pro-Taliban militants kidnapped an army officer, two guards and a government official near an army base in northwestern Pakistan, officials said Saturday. The four men were seized late Friday in Ladha, a town in the troubled South Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan, where Pakistani forces have carried out scores of operations against foreign and local militants in recent years.
Also Saturday, an army official said three suspected militants were killed in North Waziristan, though a villager claimed the men were not militants.
Pakistan, a key US ally in the war on terror, has deployed thousands of troops to its tribal regions amid pressure from Washington to flush out al-Qaida and Taliban elements. The army said Friday that 60 soldiers and 250 militants had died in a month of fighting near the Afghan border.
The violence comes as Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf faces political challenges from former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, who seek to return from exile.
No one has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings. A security official in the area, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his job, said officers and tribal elders were trying to ensure the release of the kidnapped men.
The official identified the kidnapped officer as Lt. Col. Mohammed Shahid, but provided no other details. No spokesman for the Pakistani army was immediately available for comment.
A senior army official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to talk to media, confirmed the incident but said he had no information on the captives' whereabouts.
The army official also said a Pakistani army helicopter had fired on a vehicle near Miran Shah - the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region - killing three suspected militants.
The official said the vehicle was targeted because it failed to stop at a checkpoint at Mir Ali, about 12 miles from Miran Shah.
But a villager said the slain men were not militants.
"Three innocent villagers were traveling in a car, and they were killed by the army who fired from a helicopter," said Daraz Khan, a resident of Mir Ali.
As the violence has raged in recent weeks, insurgents have started kidnapping troops.
Rebels seized 16 soldiers in South Waziristan two weeks ago and later killed one of them. Local tribal elders and government officials say they are in touch with the militants and hope to secure the release of the remaining 15 soldiers