Fighting near Afghan border kills 52

A fresh burst of fighting between local and foreign militants near the Afghan border killed 52 people today, a senior government official said.

Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said 45 Uzbek militants and seven tribesmen died in the fighting in South Waziristan, a remote border region where Taliban fighters take refuge and the United States fears that al Qaida is regrouping.

In all, more than 200 people have been reported killed in the fighting, which began last week.