The death toll in the fighting that erupted over the weekend between the Pakistani security forces and suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda militants has risen to 70 with the killing of 19 militants in Pakistan's restive North Waziristan.
The clashes that began on Saturday after alleged miscreants fired rockets on an army base near Miranshah, the administrative headquarters of North Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan's Khost province, coincided with the visit of United States President George W Bush.
Senior local officials in Miranshah said renewed fighting broke out on Sunday evening when a group of militants occupied a hotel and began targeting security forces and their installations. Insurgents lost 19 fighters when Pakistani security forces returned the fire and regained control of important installations in and around Miranshah, which had been occupied by the suspected terrorists.
At least 46 militants and five soldiers were confirmed killed in the daylong clashes. However, some media reports had put the figures at more than 100 dead. Reports reaching Islamabad from Miranshah also suggested that there had been intermittent exchange of fire between security forces and militants.
Pakistan military's chief spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan had on Sunday said the militants came from neighbouring Afghanistan through its porous border. He said it was a big challenge to control infiltration into the country.
Pakistan reportedly took up issue of fencing Afghan border with the President Bush on Saturday to check cross border movement of al-Qaeda and Taliban fugitives. Afghan President Hamid Karzai had opposed the fencing during his last month's visit to Pakistan saying that fencing meant separation.
Pakistan has deployed some 80,000 troops in border regions to halt the entry of al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects from Afghanistan and to fight those who have already taken refuge in the region. North and South Waziristan regions have been the sites of frequent military operations since early 2004. Pakistan army claims to have killed over 200 militants, mostly of Ubek, Chechen, Afghan and Arab origin in the two regions.
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