Up to 18 Pakistani soldiers killed in clashes with militants

Military spokesman major general Waheed Arshad said security forces had clashed with "miscreants" in the area, but was unable to give further details as communication links had collapsed.

"We had 12 to 16 men at the post, but had not been able to establish a contact with them as communication links were down due to bad weather," Arshad told AFP.

"We are trying to gather details about the casualties. The latest contact we had was on Monday afternoon in which soldiers informed (us) about militant casualties."

However, local administration officials in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district, told AFP militants had killed 16 soldiers and were not handing over their bodies to authorities.

"We have sent a jirga (tribal elders committee) in the area to recover the bodies of soldiers from the miscreants," a local administration official said.

Clashes erupted in the region when militants attacked troop positions with rockets late Sunday, killing two soldiers and injuring another five, an intelligence official told AFP.