AP News, August 22nd, 2007
Suspected militants attacked a military checkpoint in northwest Pakistan before dawn Wednesday, triggering a shootout that left three soldiers dead, police said.
The attack happened in Bannu, a troubled town near the North Waziristan tribal agency that borders Afghanistan, said Mohammed Noor, a local police official.
Noor said an unspecified number of attackers were killed or wounded when security forces returned fire.
A local intelligence official said the assailants used rockets, assault rifles and other munition to target the checkpoint, and that the exchange of fire continued for about 30 minutes.
"We believe that they also suffered casualties, but we don't know how many," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his job.
Also Wednesday, a Pakistan army helicopter narrowly escaped attack in the South Waziristan region when suspected militants fired several rockets at it, another security official said.
The helicopter landed safely, and troops fired mortar shells toward the area from where the rockets had been fired, said the official, who didn't want to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
No casualties were reported on either side.
Pakistan is a key ally of the United States in its war on terror, and it has deployed about 90,000 troops in its tribal regions to flush out foreign militants and their local supporters, who often target security forces.
The latest incidents came two days after a suicide attacker detonated his explosive-laden car in North Waziristan, killing three soldiers.
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Associated Press Writer Ishtiaq Mahsud from Dera Ismail Khan contributed to this report.
(This version CORRECTS Corrects that Bannu is near, not in tribal area; UPDATES with rockets fired at army helicopter.)
