Pakistan kills 25 more militants in airstrike

By Sahibzada Bahauddin

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Pakistani security forces backed by helicopter gunships killed more than two dozen al Qaeda-linked militants in a troubled tribal region on the Afghan border, officials said on Monday.

According to official estimates well over 1,000 militants have been killed in Bajaur since fighting erupted there in August and a military offensive was stepped up last month.

Senior generals have described the area as a "centre of gravity" for militants. Islamist guerrillas from Afghanistan and neighbouring tribal regions have reinforced their hard-pressed comrades, while security forces have won support from tribal militias to force the militants out of their lands.

The bodies of six tribesmen who had jointed a tribal militia were found in the past few days.

Helicopter gunships and artillery pounded militant positions in a shanty neighbourhood near the town of Charmang, which was once used as an Afghan refugee camp.

"The militants had set up bunkers in the camp and have been launching attacks on the security forces from there," a senior government official in Khar, Bajaur's main town, said.

"Twenty-five militants were killed in the airstrike," he added.

There have been clashes between the militants and a pro-government tribal militia in Kotkai village near Charmang.