Wana (Pakistan), Nov 04: Pakistani soldiers patrolling a remote tribal region along the border with Afghanistan clashed with a group of armed men, sparking a shootout which left two suspected al-Qaeda members dead, government and intelligence officials said today. The gunfight occurred yesterday in Zarray Lita, a small border town about 50 kilometres northwest of Wana, the capital of the south Waziristan tribal region, said Rahmatullah Wazir, deputy chief of the local administration. He said the identity and nationality of the al-Qaeda suspects were not clear. "I can only confirm that the dead men were foreigners," he said. Wazir gave no other details and said army officials were still investigating.

A local intelligence official told the associated press that the suspected al-Qaeda members were trying to enter Pakistan from Shkin, a town just across the border in Afghanistan.
"They were asked to surrender but they opened fire," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said a total of three suspects were spotted by the army and one of them managed to escape, returning to Afghanistan's Patkia province.
Bureau Report