Tribesmen in South Waziristan exchanged mortar and rocket fire with foreign al Qaeda militants for a third day on Wednesday, leaving at least 114 people dead, officials said. Army troops also shelled the Uzbek militants sheltering in South Waziristan, security officials and residents said, although a military spokesman denied the army was involved.
"It is the success of the policy that the government has pursued in the region for the betterment of tribal people that they are acting against foreigners," Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told AFP.
Sherpao said 84 Uzbek militants and 30 local tribesmen, including nine civilians, had been killed. Another 83 Uzbeks were captured by the tribal forces, he said.