2 soldiers die in Pakistan fighting

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN —  At least 10 militants and two soldiers were killed in a shootout after a military convoy was ambushed Thursday in northwestern Pakistan, an army spokesman said.

Nearly a dozen militants were wounded during the fighting in South Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan and has been the scene of scores of military operations against Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters in recent years.

Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said helicopter gunships targeted militant positions after the attack.

Elsewhere in the region, two soldiers and a pro-government tribal elder and his driver were killed in separate bombings, officials said.

The two soldiers were killed when suspected militants detonated a roadside bomb near a military convoy in the Spinwam area of North Waziristan, Arshad said. Four other soldiers were wounded and six suspected militants were arrested, he said.

Pro-government tribal elder Nawabzada Shamsul Wahab and his driver were killed in another tribal area, Bajur, when a bomb went off near his car, said Arshad Naveed, a local official.

The attacks came as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher visited the Pakistani capital for talks with government leaders on how to boost the fight against extremists.

Pakistan has deployed about 90,000 troops to its tribal regions.