The security forces killed two foreign al-Qaeda suspects and arrested 11 people on Saturday in a remote northern village bordering Afghanistan, senior officials said. The insurgents were hiding in Devgar village in North Waziristan, roughly 300-km south-west of Islamabad, a senior official said on condition of anonymity. "Two foreign insurgents were killed in the exchange of gunfire with the security forces. Eleven others, including at least three foreigners, were arrested," he said.
It was not immediately known whether any al-Qaeda leaders were among the dead or the arrested men.
Witnesses said that troops moved into the small village after midnight and surrounded a mud-and-brick house, where the insurgents were hiding.
"But the shootout started early in the morning which lasted for more than two hours," one witness said.
"One woman and at least three security personnel also suffered minor wounds," he said.
Another official, who also asked not to be named, said that the two dead al-Qaeda suspects appeared to be Arabs.
"The arrested men include two Sudanese and one Qatari national," he added. "The rest are locals."
The arrested men were handcuffed and swiftly moved to an undisclosed location for interrogation, witnesses said.
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