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44 killed in in clashes near Afghan border

At least 44 people including 35 militants linked to Al Qaeda have been killed in clashes with local tribesmen in Pak's South Waziristan area bordering Afghanistan.

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KARACHI: At least 44 people including 35 foreign militants linked to Al Qaeda have been killed in bloody clashes with local tribesmen in Pakistan's South Waziristan area bordering Afghanistan.

Al Qaeda-linked militants, majority of them Uzbeks, who had taken refuge in Pakistan, clashed with the members of pro-government peace committee near Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan, local officials said.

Forty-four people, including 35 foreign militants, have been killed in the fighting that erupted on Monday in village Shin Warsek.

Pakistan military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad confirmed the clashes.

"The casualties could be higher according to the reports we are getting and the fighting is still going on," an official said.

This is the second time this month that local tribesmen have clashed with foreign militants linked to Al Qaeda in the restive border areas with Afghanistan.

The foreign militants had taken refuge with local tribesmen when the Taliban government was removed by the US and coalition forces in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks.

Hundreds of foreign militants are residing in the semi-autonomous tribal border region in Pakistan but officials said the hospitality of local tribesmen was running out for many reasons.

"Earlier this month some of the foreign militants opposed to the local tribesmen supporting government initiative to bring peace to the region and to stop infiltration by militants into Afghanistan had attacked a pro-government tribal leader and that led to clashes in which some 15 people most of them Uzbeks were killed," the official said.

Militant leaders and tribal elders from North Waziristan had brokered a ceasefire but the clashes again broke out on Monday.

He said in the latest round of fighting, three school children were also reported dead when a mortar bomb fell near their school.

A government official said the growing distrust between the local tribesmen and the foreigners was a good sign for the government which had kept up pressure on the locals to send back the foreigners or tell them to give up their arms.

The US and its allies have been pressurizing President Pervez Musharraf to do more to stop the Taliban from carrying out attacks on NATO forces after crossing the border areas.

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