200 militants attack Pak post,7 killed

It was not clear whether the militants were Afghans or Pakistanis.

About 200 militants crossed into Pakistans rugged northwest from Afghanistan on Wednesday and attacked a security checkpost,the police said,and a television station put the death toll at seven.

It was not clear whether the militants were Afghans or Pakistanis. The border area is a global hub for militants,including al-Qaeda and allies such as the Pakistani Taliban,who seek to topple the US-backed Islamabad government.

The assault was launched in Shaldalo village in the mountainous northwestern region of Dir and fighting was still continuing,the police said. They (militants) were in military uniform. They attacked the outpost and then went into forest there, Mahmood Ahmed,a police officer,said.

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Militants linked to al-Qaeada,who have vowed to avenge the killing of leader Osama bin Laden by US special forces in Pakistan on May 2,have intensified their attacks,mostly suicide bombings.

Pakistans Express 24/7 television said seven police were killed in Wednesdays assault. Ahmed said all communication with the village had been cut off.

Upper Dir lies just outside of Pakistans tribal areas,but it,too,has witnessed al-Qaeda and Taliban militant activity,and the Pakistani military has carried out operations there in the past.

Local police official Bahadur Khan said Wednesdays attack began around noon.

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Meanwhile,a sum of $1.1 billion has been allocated to Pakistan for counter-insurgency operations under a draft US defence spending bill,which also threatens to withhold three-fourth of this amount till Pentagon provides a report to Congress on the strategy and metrics for its use.

The draft of the 2012 Defence Appropriations Bill,released by a House of Representatives Committee late Tuesday, includes language to withhold 75 per cent of the $1.1 billion Counter-insurgency Capability Funds for Pakistan until Secretary of Defence provides a report to Congress on a strategy for the use of these funds.