Militants linked with al-Qaeda killed

"A few miscreants were killed and a few others injured when regular troops clashed with militants in Santoi, north of Shakai, in South Waziristan tribal region on Friday," military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told AFP.

He did not specify the number of militants killed but said there were no military casualties.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

Sultan said security forces retrieved the body of a foreign militant and recovered arms and ammunition.

"Some miscreants who were injured, managed to get away," he said. "The activities are underway to flush out one of their hideouts, but this is not a new operation, it is part of an ongoing operation launched in June."

Pakistan's military launched an air and ground offensive in the Shakai valley, 25 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, on June 11.

The operation was in response to an attack on a military post on June 9 which left 14 security personnel dead. Some 65 militants and 18 soldiers were killed during the fighting.

Since mid-July security agencies have arrested more than 60 Al-Qaeda suspects in urban centers in Pakistan.

They include key operatives such as Al-Qaeda's Pakistani computer whizz Naeem Noor Khan and Tanzanian Ahmed Khalfan Gailani, a suspect in the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in East Africa.

Their capture yielded information on Al-Qaeda and led to the discovery of fresh plans to launch attacks in Britain, Pakistan and the United States ahead of US presidential elections in November, intelligence officials say.