Fighting kills 23 militants, 7 troops in northwestern Pakistan

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Suspected Islamic militants ambushed a military convoy in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, sparking a clash that left 30 dead, the army said. The insurgents said they captured 17 troops in the attack, but denied suffering any fatalities. The fighting broke out when security forces retaliated in Mohmand, a tribal region near the border with Afghanistan, said Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, the army's top spokesman. The convoy of paramilitary troops was traveling from its base in Ghalanai, the main town in Mohmand, to Mohammed Gut, when it came under fire as it passed through a Taliban stronghold, said Murad Khan, a Ghalanai resident. Arshad said 23 insurgents and seven soldiers died in the fighting.