Dozens Killed In North Waziristan Attack By Pakistani Security Forces

MIR ALI, Pakistan -- Thirty-two people have been killed and dozens reported injured in a raid by Pakistani security forces in the Mir Ali area of the restive North Waziristan tribal district.

RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal quotes local sources as saying around 25 people were killed during an attack on a hotel in Mir Ali.

In a statement, Pakistan said 23 suspected militants had been killed in clashes with security forces.

Several civilians were also reportedly killed when a mortar hit a local market.

In another incident in the same area, a mortar struck a home, killing a woman and her three children.

Pakistan's Army began the shelling after a suicide bomber struck a military compound in Mir Ali on the evening of December 18.

Four soldiers were killed.

Ansarul Mujahedin, a little-known militant group linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility.