ISLAMABAD (Pakistan) - A DECISION by Taleban militants to withdraw from a peace deal in a tribal region close to the Afghan border threatens to open a new front for the Pakistan army as it battles the insurgents in two other areas.

'Hard-fought bitter battle' ahead DETAILS of the peace deal had not been made public, but it had appeared to cause a reduction in attacks on Pakistani military targets in North Waziristan compared to other parts of the border region. But US and Nato commanders in Afghanistan said the region was being used by fighters there as a safe haven. ... more

Militants near the border are behind a spate of bombings that are destabilising nuclear-armed Pakistan. They are also blamed for attacks on Western troops in Afghanistan, where violence is running at record levels eight years after the US-led invasion.

The disintegration of the truce in North Waziristan was the latest failure of a government pact with local Taleban leaders. The agreements have been criticised abroad because they effectively cede space to the insurgents.

The current government offensive in the Swat Valley - which began after a peace deal there fell apart - and an artillery and air campaign in South Waziristan have been praised by the United States, which has been trying since the September 11, 2001, attacks to get Islamabad to take military action against Taleban and Al-Qaeda fighters in the border region.

Militants in North Waziristan announced on Monday that they had pulled out of a peace deal with the government dating back to early 2008, citing attacks by the army and missile strikes by the United States. The move followed a weekend ambush by insurgents on an army convoy in the region that killed at least 16 soldiers, among them three officers. Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas vowed on Tuesday to avenge the attack.

The border area is a lawless, mountainous region where the central government has little control.

Pakistan began its offensive in the Swat Valley region in late May after militants there advanced on the capital, violating the terms of the peace deal. The military claims to have killed more than 1,000 fighters and has retaken much of the district, but most of the some 2 million people who fled the fighting have yet to return.

This month, the army began bombing targets in South Waziristan, saying it was softening up the region for an offensive targeting Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan's major Taleban faction who has been blamed for many of the county's most deadly suicide attacks in recent years.

The scrapping of the accord to the north adds to the difficulties facing the army.

'The group they are trying to neutralise has become bigger, as has the area they will need to contain them', said Shahzad Chaudhry, the former deputy head of the Pakistani air force and a security analyst. 'The attempt was to try and reduce the size of the opposing forces, but now it seems the army have a bigger problem at hand. It will have to be a long-haul fight now.' -- AP