Pakistan's military says four soldiers and 10 suspected militants were killed in clashes in northwestern regions bordering Afghanistan.
Military spokesman General Waheed Arshad said militants attacked a military convoy Thursday near the town of Wana in South Waziristan, a stronghold of Taleban and al-Qaida sympathizers. Arshad said two soldiers and 10 suspected militants died and a dozen militants were injured in the shootout.
Earlier, the military reported that a roadside bomb killed two soldiers in an ambush in the neighboring tribal region of North Waziristan.
Also Thursday, a roadside bomb killed a tribal chief and a supporter in the Bajur tribal region.
Pakistani officials also say they found a decapitated body in Kurram Agency, another frontier tribal region. Found with the body was a letter saying that whoever spies for the United States will face a dreadful fate.
Suspected militants have beheaded scores of people in Pakistan's tribal regions on charges of spying for the United States in recent years.
Violence has escalated in North Waziristan since July, when pro-Taleban militants abandoned a 10-month peace deal with Pakistani authorities.
The government has deployed 90,000 troops along the Afghan border to hunt down Taleban and al-Qaida fugitives.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
