Militants kill 8 Pak soldiers

At least eight Pakistani soldiers were killed in clashes after militants attacked a checkpost in the country's lawless tribal northwest yesterday, officials said.
Dozens of militants armed with rockets and grenades stormed the checkpost in Surang Baba Ziarat village, around 30 kilometres north of Wana, the main town of South Waziristan tribal district, a senior security official in Peshawar told AFP.
The attack came during a military operation against militant hideouts which netted a huge cache of arms and ammunition, the official said.
Eight soldiers were killed and six injured in the checkpost attack, the official said, while 18 militants died during three hours of fighting. A second security official confirmed the military death toll.
The area is cut off to journalists and aid workers and it was not possible to confirm the death toll independently.