Militants hit Pakistan checkpoint

Dozens of militants have launched an overnight attack on a Pakistani security post in the border region with Afghanistan, officials said.

The gun and rocket battle in South Waziristan lasted more than two hours.

Military sources said that two militants and one soldier had died in the attack.

The security post is about 40km (25 miles) from the area where Pakistan says it killed 55 militants in a five-day crackdown last week.

Identifying bodies

One military official told the Associated Press news agency that the militants attacked and physically occupied the post.

"We sent our people and they got that post back," he said.

Pakistan's five-day offensive against militants ended on Sunday

The nationality of the attackers is not known.

The security post is in the Ladha area of South Waziristan, about 400km (250 miles) south-west of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

It is also 40km north-east of Wana, the area's main town and the scene of last week's offensive against local and foreign supporters of al-Qaeda.

Military officials say 72 people died during the offensive, including 17 soldiers.

The Pakistani authorities are trying to identify the bodies of the suspected al-Qaeda members.

Spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said there were some foreigners among those killed; he did not say which countries they came from.

The five-day counter-terrorism assault by Pakistani forces ended on Sunday with a major attack on suspected militant hideouts using artillery, helicopter gunships and jet fighters.

On Monday three soldiers with Pakistan's Frontier Corps were killed, and three others injured, after an attack on their vehicle in North Waziristan.