ISLAMABAD, 24 July 2007 — Thirty-five militants and two Pakistani soldiers were killed in heavy fighting in a northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border, the army said yesterday.

Chief military spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad told AFP that at least 30 of the rebels had died in a series of clashes in the North Waziristan tribal agency since late Sunday night. Another five insurgents were killed after rebels attacked a checkpoint in the same district yesterday evening with rockets and guns, Arshad said, adding that the battle was continuing. Two soldiers had been killed and another 12 wounded in the violence over the past 24 hours, he added, but gave no further details.

Rebels Threaten Suicide Attacks

Militants yesterday warned soldiers to quit fighting or face more suicide attacks, as talks to salvage a tattered peace accord in an Afghan border region failed.

The pro-Taleban hard-liners threatened that bombs would bring soldiers the “gift of death” in a pamphlet entitled “Till Islam Lives in Islamabad,” distributed in the town of Miranshah.

The chilling warning came as Washington reiterated that it reserved the right to launch unilateral strikes against targets in Pakistan’s tribal belt, where it says Al-Qaeda and the Taleban have set up “safe havens.”

Fighting along the Afghan frontier has intensified amid a nationwide wave of bloodshed that has killed more than 200 people, mostly security forces, after the July 10-11 raid on the Red Mosque in Islamabad.

In earlier attacks yesterday, seven soldiers were wounded in two separate rocket and bomb attacks.

Amid the violence, efforts continued to salvage a collapsed peace accord after a multi-tribe delegation reported “some progress.” But reports later said talks failed to make headway.

The truce, signed in September, was heavily criticized by Washington and Kabul. Militants tore it up over a week ago amid complaints about new checkpoints and a lack of compensation for damage in previous army operations.

The militants’ pamphlet, issued by a group calling itself the Mujahedeen-e-Islam (Islamic holy warriors), meanwhile accused Pakistani troops of doing the bidding of the United States and leading impure lives.

“Go to your homes and earn halal (pure) income for your families... instead of serving the Americans,” the pamphlet said. Nineteen rebels were killed in weekend clashes in North Waziristan.

Two soldiers were wounded yesterday when rockets hit a checkpoint in Razmak town, and a remote-controlled improvised explosive device wounded five more as they rushed to help their colleagues, a security official told AFP.