ISLAMABAD - MILITANTS attacked a Pakistani security post near the Afghan border on Saturday, triggering a battle that left 13 assailants and two troops dead, an official said.

The assault in the Mohmand tribal region - where Pakistan's army recently declared victory over militants who had begun to threaten the nearby city of Peshawar - also wounded three troops, said Mr Syed Ahmad Jan, a senior administrator in Mohmand.

Terms violated The Obama administration, which is bankrolling Pakistan's government and army with billions of dollars, has likened the pact to a surrender to allies of al-Qaeda. The Pakistani army says the militants have repeatedly violated the terms of the agreement by kidnapping police and planting roadside bombs. ... more

'Our security forces returned fire after coming under attack this morning, and when the insurgents escaped they left the bodies of 13 of their comrades,' Mr Jan said.

Pakistani generals claimed earlier this year to have dismantled Taliban mini-states in Mohmand and the neighboring Bajur region, from where insurgents were attacking US troops in Afghanistan as well as Pakistani forces and officials.

Militants still control much of the tribal belt along the mountainous frontier, where U.S. officials say al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is probably still hiding, and have sought to expand toward previously peaceful areas.

Pakistani counterinsurgency efforts are currently focused on Buner, a district much closer to the capital that was infiltrated last month by Taliban militants.

The advance brought the Taliban to within 60 miles (100 kilometres) of Islamabad and triggered alarm in Pakistan and the West for the stability of the nuclear-armed country.

Pakistan's army said on Friday that it had fought its way over a mountain pass into Buner, a hilly farming district beside the Indus River, and was bombing militant bases further north.

The military says it has killed more than 100 militants and lost several soldiers since the fighting began on Tuesday. Hundreds of civilians have fled the area.

Militants seized Buner under cover of a controversial peace agreement in the neighboring Swat Valley. The government agreed to impose Islamic law in Swat and neighboring areas in return for peace. -- AP