Helicopter gunships fired on pro-Taliban tribesmen who clashed with security forces Saturday near the Afghan border, leaving at least 49 people dead, in the aftermath of a military strike on a suspected militant hide-out. Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, the army spokesman, said 25 militants were killed in Miran Shah and 21 in Mir Ali, but he added the toll could be higher than that. Three security forces also died and about 10 were wounded, he said.
Intercepts of radio communications between militants involved in the fighting in the towns of Miran Shah and Mir Ali in North Waziristan tribal region suggested 80 or more fighters had died, security and intelligence officials said on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to comment to media.
The violence came as President Bush visited the capital, Islamabad, about 190 miles to the northeast, and voiced solidarity with Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in fighting terrorism.
Pakistan has deployed about 80,000 forces along the Afghan frontier, but has failed to assert the government's control in the tribal regions that have resisted outside influence for centuries.
Waziristan is known as a hotbed of Al Qaeda and Taliban militants who draw support from the local Pashtun tribal people. Many of the rebellious tribesmen involved in Saturday's unrest were believed to be Islamic students who are sympathetic with the hard-line Taliban militia.