The Pakistani military on Wednesday claimed it killed up to 40 pro-Taliban militants aerial and artillery strikes in the border region by Afghanistan, while conceding that 19 security officers were captured by the enemy in the area.
"Our forces targeted two position of the militants on the border of the tribal districts of North and South Waziristan with artillery fire and Cobra helicopters," army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said.
"We have information that up to 40 militants were killed in the raids and several others injured," he added.
There was no report of casualties on the side of the government forces, according to the spokesman.
There was no independent confirmation of the claims, which coincided with the visit of US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte to Islamabad Wednesday for strategic talks on counter- terrorism and other fields of cooperation.
Pakistani authorities in the past also announced major successes against militants as senior foreign diplomats arrived in the country to exhort the government to do more in the war against terrorism.
Musharraf, a key US ally in the struggle, has been under mounting pressure from Washington to step up efforts against al-Qaeda and pro- Taliban militants in the tribal areas, from where cross-border attacks are launched against international forces in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, insurgents wounded two law enforcers and captured 19 officers in a pre-dawn rocket attack on a security checkpoint in the Bannu district of the North-West Frontier Province, damaging the building, Arshad said.
Bannu police chief Dar Ali Khattak said the assault was likely carried out by militants from the neighbouring South Waziristan, where more than 200 soldiers were taken prisoner by gunmen on August 30.
It was widely reported Monday that the troops had been released and handed over to tribal elders who have been in talks with their captors.
However, the army spokesman denied the reports, saying the negotiations were continuing for their release.
"We are exercising a lot of restraint but if the talks do not succeed, we will opt for other means," Arshad said, without specifying what action would be taken.
The country's north-west regions have seen a sharp rise in militant attacks on security forces since government troops stormed Islamabad's radical Red Mosque in July and peace treaties were subsequently scrapped. dpa ns na sc
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