ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 28 (UPI) -- An ambush on a military convoy by militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region killed 12 soldiers, military officials said.
The soldiers retaliated, killing 10 of the militants, who are believed to be associated with a group led by Baitullah Mehsud, leader of the Pakistani Taliban group, Dawn newspaper reported.
Mehsud is the target of the military's current anti-militant campaign in his stronghold of South Waziristan.
The report said 10 other soldiers were injured in the Sunday attack in Wacha Bibi near Datakhel, 20 miles west of Miramshah. Witnesses told Dawn the convoy, patrolling the area, hit a landmine and soon after came under militant attack.
The battle between security forces and the militants continued through the night, with military helicopters involved in bombing the Taliban positions, the report said, quoting local people.
A spokesman for Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who heads the local militants, claimed responsibility for the attack on the convoy in a telephone call to Dawn.
The report said Gul Bahadur, along with Baitullah Mehsud and 'Maulvi' Nazir, recently formed a group in South Waziristan to fight the military. The spokesman claimed 60 soldiers had been killed so far.
The militants' spokesman also claimed responsibility for attacks on a military convoy Friday near Miramshah in which three soldiers died and 18 others were wounded.
The BBC reported the United States has offered a $5 million reward for Mehsud's capture. Pakistani authorities Sunday added another $615,000.
At least 33 people died and 65 others were wounded in sectarian fighting in Pakistan's Kurram region bordering Afghanistan during the weekend. Local tribes, some infiltrated by the Taliban, have been fighting each other in the region, a Dawn report said.
