Pakistan militant raid 'kills 50'

Pakistani helicopter gunships have attacked Islamist militants in the Khyber region, killing more than 50 fighters, local officials say.

A large ammunition depot was also destroyed, they said. The casualty claim cannot be independently verified.

Militants in the region have been stepping up attacks on supplies to the US and Nato in Afghanistan.

Earlier on Friday, a suicide car bomber killed himself and wounded six people at a checkpoint on the Khyber Pass.

Khyber official Tariq Hayat told Reuters news agency that the gunships attacked militants on the border of the Khyber and Orakzai regions.

"Fifty-two militants were killed and a huge ammunition depot and eight vehicles were destroyed in an attack by army helicopters," Mr Hayat said.

"Most of the deaths occurred because the destruction of the ammunition depot triggered a series of explosions," he said.

Bridge attack

In the suicide attack, the bomber targeted the checkpoint in Jamrud town in the Khyber tribal district.

"Six people, including two tribal policemen, were injured," news agency AFP quoted Bakhtiar Mohmand, a tribal administration official, as saying.

The explosion damaged other vehicles nearby and traffic was briefly halted following the attack, he said.

On Tuesday, militants blew up a bridge in Khyber district, cutting the link to Nato forces and halting all the traffic on the road.

On Wednesday, suspected Taleban militants in Pakistan also destroyed a number of lorries in Landikotal, the main town in the Khyber region.

Most supplies for the international forces in Afghanistan come through the Khyber Pass in Pakistan.

The US army has been setting up other supply routes to counter the increasing attacks on the road.