At least eight foreign militants were killed by Pakistani troops in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan where authorities have been trying to flush out hundreds of foreign fighters.
Militants and Pakistani troops exchanged fire in the area this morning.
The bodies of eight militants had been spotted near the town of Wana in South Waziristan, Brigadier Mehmood Shah, head of security in the tribal region said.
Pakistan says up to 600 foreign militants, including Arabs, Chechens and Uzbeks linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, have been hiding out in tribal areas close to the Afghan border, many of them sheltered by Pakistani tribal fighters.
Military spokesman Shaukat Sultan said earlier security forces had responded to overnight fire of "miscreants and terrorists" but had not launched any fresh operation against the militants.