Pakistan: 63 Die in Militant-Security Border Clash

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Fox News:

Pakistan -- Fighting between militants who crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan and attacked a Pakistani checkpoint killed 25 troops, three civilians and 35 insurgents, police said Thursday, in some of the deadliest clashes in recent months.

The fighting, which began Wednesday and continued into Thursday, came as a top Pakistani general said the military plans to stage an operation against militants in a tribal region that juts deep inside Afghanistan, but denied media reports of an upcoming offensive in North Waziristan, the tribal area where the U.S. has been pushing for action.

Pakistan's northwest border with Afghanistan has for years been a stomping ground for Islamist extremists, some of whom focus on attacks against Western forces across the border, some who attack the Pakistani state and others who plot terrorism against the West.

Pakistan has taken action against militants in the northwest, but they have proved to be resilient.

The clashes erupted Wednesday in Shaltalo town in Upper Dir district. Upper Dir lies just outside the tribal belt, but it too has witnessed Al Qaeda and Taliban militant activity and been the focus of military offensives.