Pakistan clashes lead to deaths of 41 militants, two soldiers

More than 100 militants armed with rockets and automatic weapons attacked two security checkpoints in north-western Pakistan today, sparking intense fighting which left at least 41 insurgents and two soldiers dead, officials said.

The clashes were the latest violence in the Orakzai tribal region, where the military launched an operation in March to rout Pakistani Taliban fighters who have fled there to escape other offensives. More than 300 suspected militants have been killed in three weeks of constant air strikes and occasional ground clashes.