The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Peshawar

Suspected militants shot dead four Pakistani paramilitary soldiers overnight in a troubled northwestern tribal town near the Afghan border, officials said Wednesday.

The attack occurred in Khyber tribal district, where Pakistan poured in paramilitary troops about 10 days ago to clear the area of Islamic militants threatening to create unrest in the provincial capital city of Peshawar.

Gunmen ambushed the soldiers' vehicle when it was heading to the base camp late Tuesday, local administration official Muhammad Khan told AFP. Three soldiers were also wounded in the attack.

The chief of the militant Lashkar-e-Islami group, Mangal Bagh, denied his men were involved in the attack and vowed to punish those responsible, according to reports in local media.

Bagh and his LI are accused of involvement in kidnapping for ransom in Peshawar and attacking convoys supplying NATO and US troops in Afghanistan that travel through the historic Khyber Pass.

Bagh is currently in Khyber's Tirah mountains where government-backed tribal elders have been meeting him for the last few days.