7 killed as Taliban ambush Pak army convoy

PESHAWAR: Pro-Taliban militants ambushed a Pakistani army convoy in the restive North Waziristan tribal region, killing seven soldiers and rebels, officials said on Tuesday.   

The convoy came under attack on Monday in the mountains near the main town of Miranshah while heading towards Beermal on the Afghan border.    

Four soldiers and three militants were killed.   “They first detonated an explosive with remote control on the roadside and then opened fire on the convoy,” an intelligence official told Reuters.   

He said eight soldiers were wounded in the fighting that lasted for an hour.  

The rugged Waziristan region has been scene of fierce battles between Islamist militants and security forces over the past two years.

Close to 300 people have been killed in clashes in recent weeks.   Many Al Qaeda militants and their Taliban allies fled to Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt after they were chased out of Afghanistan by U.S.-backed forces in 2001.

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is believed to have passed through Waziristan during his escape.  

Pakistan has sent close to 80,000 troops into the tribal belt to root out foreign militants, but they have faced fierce resistance.