ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 9 (UPI) -- Pakistani troops killed at least 20 terror suspects Wednesday in a tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, officials said.
One Pakistani soldier and three civilians, including a woman, were also killed in the fighting, Brig. Mahmud Shah, the chief administrator for Pakistan's tribal belt told reporters in Peshawar.
Reports from South Waziristan tribal zone, however, say at least four Pakistani soldiers were also killed in the fighting.
Pakistani officials refused to confirm those reports.
The fighting between Pakistani troops and the militants erupted earlier Wednesday when unidentified militants attacked a military camp with rockets.
Pakistani troops were attacked in four other places in the area as well, officials said.
U.S. and Pakistani officials say at least 600 Chechen, Arab, Uzbek and other foreign militants are hiding in South Waziristan bordering Afghanistan's Khost province.
In March, Pakistan launched a military operation in this area but called it off after 100 people, including 43 troops, were killed.
The troops, however, stayed in the area, encircling the suspected militant enclave, while civilian authorities tried to negotiate a deal with local tribes believed to be hiding the militants.
