Militants in northwest Pakistan attacked two offices of a government-sponsored peace movement and killed eight people, the military said today.
The attacks were in South Waziristan on the Afghan border, where a militant leader the government says was behind the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is based.
South Waziristan and neighbouring North Waziristan are hotbeds of support for the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Many militants fled there when US-led forces overthrew the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The government has been struggling to control the regions and to expel foreign militants and subdue their Pakistani allies. It set up committees to foster talks among the ethnic Pashtun tribes in the region, some of which support militants.