Violence flares on Pakistani border with Afghanistan

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PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Mar 9 (Reuters): Pakistani forces killed four militants in a strategically important region on the Afghan border Monday in the most serious incident in the area since militants declared a ceasefire two weeks ago.

Pakistan is under international pressure to eliminate militant enclaves in lawless ethnic Pashtun areas on the Afghan border from where the Taliban orchestrate their insurgency in Afghanistan and al Qaeda plots violence.

The heaviest fighting in recent months has been in the Bajaur region, opposite Afghanistan's Kunar province. A Pakistani commander said late last month his forces had defeated militants in Bajaur after a six-month campaign.

The hard-pressed militants led by an al Qaeda ally, Faqir Mohammad, declared a unilateral ceasefire in Bajaur on February 23. Although the military rejected a militant offer of talks, fighting petered out.

But early Monday militants fired rocket-propelled grenades at a paramilitary force post near the town of Nawagai, a military official said.

"Forces returned fire and killed four militants," the military official said. Residents of the area confirmed the clash.

Bajaur has long been a major infiltration route into Afghanistan.