Wana, July 20 (Reuters): Pakistani troops forced al Qaida-linked militants from mountain strongholds near the Afghan border today, inflicting unspecified casualties, the military said.

Residents in and around Wana, the main town of the tribal area of South Waziristan, saw fighter jets and gunship helicopters pound strongholds in mountains around the Santoi and Mantoi valleys. Artillery was also used. “Jets dropped bombs and four gunship helicopters were continuously firing on the area,” said resident Mannu Khan in the village of Shakai, some 400 km southwest of Islamabad.

Pakistani military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said militants had been “flushed out” from the area. “Flushed out means that they have either been killed or pushed out,” he said, declining to say how many fighters had been killed or wounded.

“They (the militants) suffered fatalities,” he added. “They have lost the heights which they have been occupying and now security forces occupy them.”

Pakistani officials have said between 100 and 150 al Qaida-linked militants were hiding in the mountains near Shakai.

Up to 600 foreign fighters, including Arabs, Chechens and Uzbeks, are believed to be in Pakistan’s tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, many of them sheltered by tribesmen who have also been involved in fierce clashes with troops this year.

Sultan said a suspected foreign fighter carrying rockets and a rocket launcher had been captured in today’s operation.