100 militants killed in Afghan border offensive

PAKISTANI forces bombed dozens of houses in a tribal region near the Afghan border yesterday, officials and witnesses said, amid reports that days of clashes have killed at least 100 insurgents and nine paramilitary troops.

Details have been scarce about the military offensive in Bajur, an insurgent stronghold considered a possible hiding place for al-Qaida leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Sardar Khan, a local police official, said two spells of aerial bombing destroyed about 40 houses in several villages. He said bombs also struck a school occupied by Taliban fighters in Loi Sam, a village that has been a key focus of the fighting.