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Rival militants clash in Pakistan Rival militants clash in Pakistan
(about 2 hours later)
At least 25 people have been reported killed in fighting between mostly Uzbek al-Qaeda militants and local tribesmen in Pakistan, military officials say. Up to 30 people have been killed in fighting between al-Qaeda militants and local pro-Taleban tribesmen in north west Pakistan, the military says.
They say that heavy shelling broke out on Monday and continued on Tuesday near the town of Wana in the South Waziristan region close to Afghanistan. Heavy shelling has raged since Monday near Wana in the South Waziristan tribal area close to Afghanistan.
The area has been tense since clashes between foreign militants and local tribes people earlier this month. The BBC has confirmed only seven deaths, including two school children caught in the cross-fire.
Officials say that Uzbek, Chechen and Arabs militants are hiding in the area. The tribal areas are home to hundreds of foreign militants who fled the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
The tribesmen are fed up with them [foreign militants] Military spokesman Waheed Arshad Fractious militants
They are supported by local tribesmen, who also have close ties to the Afghan Taleban.
The militants all want Western troops out of Afghanistan, but there are divisions and power struggles among them.
Reports say two senior Taleban commanders, Baitullah Mahsud and Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani, have gone to the area to try to pacify the two groups and managed to broker a ceasefire in the past few hours.
Children 'dead'Children 'dead'
"The numbers of casualties is rising and we have reports of 25 to 30 dead," Pakistani military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad said. Tensions between the mostly Uzbek fighters and local militants rose after an Arab militant was killed on Sunday.
He said 15 to 20 of the dead were foreign militants and most are believed to be Uzbeks. class="" href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/6409089.stm">Taleban spread their wings class="" href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/6387467.stm"> High stakes on border
Maj-Gen Arshad said about 30 people had been wounded in the Azam Warsak and Kalusha area west of Wana, the region's main town. The area has been fraught since similar clashes in which 19 people were killed earlier this month.
Teachers in the area say that three children are among the dead after their bus was hit by a mortar bomb. Pakistani military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad said 15 to 20 of the dead were foreign militants and most are believed to be Uzbeks.
Details of the latest clashes are unclear. "The numbers of casualties is rising and we have reports of 25 to 30 dead," he told Reuters news agency.
But correspondents say they are reported to stem from differences between local tribesmen and foreign militants over the law and order situation in the troubled South Waziristan area. Maj-Gen Arshad said about 30 people had been wounded in the fighting around Azam Warsak and Kalusha area west of Wana, the region's main town.
Each side has blamed the other for the fighting, and correspondents say that a truce has now been negotiated. However the high number of casualties reported by military and security officials have not been confirmed by the local administration and other sources.
At least 18 people, mostly foreign militants, were killed in a similar clash earlier this month. They told the BBC that only seven people had died - five of them Uzbeks and two students.
Another 26 people had been wounded so far in the clashes, local officials told the BBC.
Poor telecommunications in the area has meant that details of the latest clashes are sketchy. But they are reported to stem from differences between local tribesmen and foreign militants over the law and order situation in South Waziristan.
Spring offensive
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says the clashes have turned a large area west of Wana into a battlefield, with both sides dug in in several villages.
Each side has blamed the other for the outbreak of fighting.
Nato and the Afghan government have criticised Pakistan for recently signing peace deals with militants in South and North Waziristan.
They argue that the agreements have created a safe haven for the Taleban in advance of an expected spring offensive by the militants in Afghanistan.
But the government said the agreements were necessary to reduce the number of Pakistani soldiers who were being killed in the border areas.
More than 700 Pakistani troops have lost their lives in the fight for control over the tribal areas in recent years.