Militants attack paramilitary camp in Pakistan

By Hafiz Wazir

WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Hundreds of militants in northwest Pakistan attacked a paramilitary camp and up to 30 soldiers were missing, security officials said on Wednesday.

The militants attacked the camp in the South Waziristan region on the Afghan border late on Tuesday, the officials said. A military official said there had been fighting in the area but he denied reports the militants had captured the camp.

"About 700 militants attacked the fort at Sara Rogha at about 9:30 p.m. and communication with the fort was cut at around 2 a.m.," a security official said.

"There were about 37 paramilitary troops in the fort and seven of them were able to escape while the rest of them are missing and feared dead," said the official, who declined to be identified.

Security forces have been battling al Qaeda-linked militants in South Waziristan for several years.

The Sara Rogha area is a stronghold of al Qaeda-linked militant leader Baitullah Mehsud, who the government said was behind the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi on Dec. 27.

Security forces were firing artillery in the area on Wednesday morning but it was not immediately clear what their target was, residents said.

Another security official said six militants had been killed in the overnight fighting.