10 militants, 4 Pakistani soldiers killed in clash

By MIRAN SHAH, PAKISTAN
Pro-Taliban militants attacked a security checkpoint in a remote northwestern tribal region of Pakistan before dawn Saturday, triggering a shootout that left four soldiers and 10 militants dead, officials said. About five soldiers were also wounded in the militant attack on the Oblanki checkpoint near the village of Dosali, 75 kilometers (45 miles) south of Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, said Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, the spokesman for the Pakistan army. He said the gunbattle continued from 3 a.m. to about 5 a.m. (2200 GMT to 0000 GMT) and the Islamic militants later fled to nearby mountains with some of the bodies of slain associates. In another attack, pro-Taliban Islamic militants fired eight rockets at a security checkpoint near Miran Shah, but caused no damage or casualties, said the official on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media. The official said Pakistan army was using two helicopter gunships to trace the militants, who managed to flee with some of the bodies of the slain men.