The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Islamabad

Pakistani soldiers killed up to 90 Islamist militants near the Afghan border Friday, as the chief of the CIA linked the leader of the extremists in the region to the assassination of Bhutto.

The fierce clashes were the latest in a series to rock the lawless Pakistani tribal region of South Waziristan, the stronghold of wanted Islamist warlord Baitullah Mehsud and his Al-Qaeda and Taliban allies.

Militants have stepped up attacks on troops in the region since opposition leader Bhutto was killed last month, underlining US fears Pakistan is spiralling out of control ahead of February 18 elections.

CIA Director Michael Hayden told The Washington Post in an interview published Friday that Al-Qaeda and allies of tribal chief Mehsud were behind her killing at a political rally on December 27.

"This was done by that network around Baitullah Mehsud. We have no reason to question that," Hayden said, echoing assertions by President Pervez Musharraf's government about Bhutto's death.

The CIA chief was quoted as saying there is a "nexus now that probably was always there in latency but is now active: a nexus between Al-Qaeda and various extremist and separatist groups."

The rebels have shown their growing strength in the past week, capturing a Pakistani paramilitary fort in the tribal belt and killing seven soldiers on Wednesday, with another 15 troops still missing.

Soldiers on Friday fought off a "large number" of insurgents who surrounded another fort at Ladha in South Waziristan and attacked it with rockets, the military said in a statement.