Three militants killed in Pakistan

By Xinhua

Islamabad : Pakistani troops killed at least three militants Tuesday in an operation to liquidate a "terrorist" training camp in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan.


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The private Geo TV quoted military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad as saying that at least three militants were killed in the raid and some "terrorist" training materials including explosives were seized.

Soldiers stormed the camp at the Zargarkhel village in the troubled north Waziristan district after militants refused to meet a peace delegation flown in by helicopter and opened fire on security forces, a military statement said.

"The security forces returned fire and are in the process of clearing the miscreants' training facility," the statement said.

The Pakistani authorities signed a controversial peace deal with militants in Waziristan in September 2006, following months of clashes, which left hundreds people dead.

The pact alarmed NATO and US forces in Afghanistan who said that rebels based in the region were launching cross-border attacks on their troops and on Afghan forces and civilians.

Military operations by Pakistani forces in the rugged tribal belt have left 700 soldiers and more than 1,000 insurgents dead since 2003, according to Pakistani officials.

Hundreds of Al Qaida and Taliban fighters fled into northwestern Pakistan after US-led forces ousted the Taliban regime in late 2001 following the Sep 11 attacks in the US.

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