Pakistani army kills suspected militants

Pakistani army helicopters killed around 80 suspected militants yesterday in a dawn attack on a religious school run by a pro-Taliban

commander wanted for harbouring al Qaeda fighters, a military spokesman said.

The army said the religious school or madrasa in Chenagai, 10 kilometres north of Khar, the main town in the Bajaur tribal region bordering Afghanistan, was being used as a militant training camp.

The strike killed almost everyone present in the madrasa, although at least three wounded were taken to hospital in Khar.

"The compound has been destroyed," Major-General Shaukat Sultan said.

"According to our local sources, up to 80 deaths have been confirmed," he said.

No ground troops were sent in to mop up.

Residents said they had seen three or four army helicopters flying over Chenagai at around 5 a.m.

No prominent militant was believed to be in the compound when it was attacked, Major-General Sultan said. Security officials said one of those killed was Maulana Liaqatullah, the pro-Taliban commander who ran the madrasa.

Major-General Sultan said there were no women or children present.

Some villagers said there were young children among those killed, but Maulana Faqir Mohammad, a militant commander at the target site, told Reuters Television that the dead were aged between 15 and 25.

Bodies covered with white sheets lay in rows as Mohammad addressed hundreds of gunmen gathered by the ruined madrasa, declaring his support for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar.