MIRANSHAH: Around 150 militants armed with rockets attacked a security checkpost in Pakistan's Waziristan Thursday, killing eight soldiers, intelligence officials said, as tensions rise in the volatile northwestern region along the Afghan border. The attack, in which about 12 militants were killed, appeared to be part of a new strategy by the Taliban of staging large-scale assaults on military targets in a bid to demoralize the army. It came on the heels of a flurry of missile strikes by US drone aircraft in the tribal region along the Afghan border regarded as a hub of militants from around the world. The Taliban have intensified attacks across Pakistan in recent weeks to avenge the killing of Osama Bin Laden on May 2. The US appears to have stepped up its drone missile strikes against militants, especially after US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton visited Pakistan recently and urged Pakistan to do more to fight insurgents. It's not clear if Pakistan, recipient of billions of dollars in US military aid, has shared intelligence with the Americans in stepped up drone missile attacks in South Waziristan. The CIA, which operates the remotely-piloted drones, may have spotted high-value Al-Qaeda or Taliban militants there. No one claimed responsibility for Thursday's militant attack on the checkpost. Last week, the Pakistani Taliban staged a similar attack in the northwest, and officials said up to 400 militants took part. “The militants were carrying rockets and heavy weapons and attacked the checkpost shortly after midnight,” an intelligence official in Waziristan told Reuters, describing the latest attack. “Eight soldiers were killed and twelve were wounded.” Security forces hit back, killing at least 12 militants, another official said. It was not possible to verify the casualty figures. The attack took place on the border between North and South Waziristan.
