Pak troops strike al-Qaeda camp: 4 killed

Pakistani troops backed by helicopter gunships yesterday stormed a suspected al-Qaeda camp in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan, killing at least four foreign rebels, officials said.

Soldiers raided the training camp at Zargarkhel village in North Waziristan after militants refused to meet a peace delegation flown in by helicopter and opened fire, military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said.

The strike came as the United States continued to press key ally President Pervez Musharraf to crush al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents, who have allegedly regrouped in the rugged frontier area since 2001.

Arshad told AFP the security forces had cordoned off the area after "confirmed reports that miscreants were operating a terrorist training facility in Zargarkhel."