KHAR (Pakistan) - A PAKISTANI general says troops have captured a key militant stronghold near the Afghan border.

Major General Tariq Khan said on Saturday that government forces had captured Loi Sam, a town in the Bajur region.

Bajur is part of Pakistan's tribal belt from where Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants launch attacks on both sides of the border.

Maj Gen Khan said a total of 1,500 suspected militants and 73 troops have died since the army launched an offensive in Bajur in early August. -- AP