A top Pashtun tribal warrior who backed al-Qaeda and three of his comrades were killed by Pakistani security forces in an overnight raid in a remote tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
Nek Mohammad, who gave shelter to al Qaeda-linked foreign militants in South Waziristan, was killed near Wana - the main town of South Waziristan - 400 kilometres southwest of Islamabad.
Pakistan has been battling al-Qaeda-linked militants and tribal groups sheltering them for months as part of a campaign to rid the country of Islamic radicals.