The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Islamabad

The chief of Pakistan's powerful army on Friday dismissed "unrealistic" fears that Al-Qaeda could seize the country's nuclear weapons, as the military test-fired a ballistic missile.

In a rare foray into politics, the normally reclusive General Ashfaq Kiyani rejected speculation that Pakistan's warheads could be at risk amid the turmoil sparked by the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

The United States and other Western allies have showed mounting concern about the security of Islamabad's estimated 50 warheads, with Pakistani forces battling a growing insurgency by Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

Kiyani however told troops after the training launch of the medium-range Shaheen-1 (Hatf IV) that the military was "capable of safeguarding and securing nuclear assets against all categories of threat."

Pakistani troops on Friday combed mountains in the volatile tribal stronghold of an Al-Qaeda-linked militant blamed by Islamabad and Washington for the killing of Benazir Bhutto.

But Pakistani officials rejected US Defence Secretary Robert Gates's offer that the United States is "ready, willing and able" to conduct joint combat operations in the troubled region if Islamabad agrees.

Gates's offer came amid escalating clashes in the tribal region of South Waziristan, the hideout of Islamist warlord Baitullah Mehsud, who is accused of masterminding opposition leader Bhutto's assassination last month.

Around 200 militants and 30 soldiers are said to have died during three weeks of fighting.

The army said it had fired artillery and mortar rounds on Friday targeting militant hideouts from which troops had come under fire overnight in South Waziristan.

"A house-to-house search operation is underway in the areas where the security forces have consolidated their positions," chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP.

No loss of life was reported in the latest skirmishes in the troubled region, which is described by the United States as a sanctuary for Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.