Suspected US Missile Strike Kills 3 in NW Pakistan

A local resident gestures as he stands on the debris of his home in Sultanwas, Buner, Pakistan,...

A local resident gestures as he stands on the debris of his home in Sultanwas, Buner, Pakistan, Thursday, July 9, 2009. Sultanwas, a stronghold of Taliban militants, was destroyed during fierce fight with Pakistani security forces. Pakistan will allow some 2 million people who fled an army offensive against the Taliban in Swat Valley to return home next week, the prime minister announced Thursday, saying the region was now secure and essential services restored. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)

(AP)

Elsewhere in Pakistan's troubled northwest Friday, two clashes left at least 20 militants and security forces dead in the Bajur region, an area that the army in March had claimed to have cleared of insurgents.

The latest fighting underscores the difficulties the military faces in rooting out the Islamist extremists who threaten the stability of the nuclear-armed country.

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Taliban fighters ambushed an army convoy Friday afternoon in Bajur's Charmang Valley, said local government official Jamil Khan. Four insurgents and two soldiers were killed.

Two hours later, the military pounded the area with helicopter gunships and artillery, killing 10 more militants, Khan said.

Earlier, dozens of militants overran a police post and killed four officers in Khar, Bajur's main town, said Adalat Khan, a government official.

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Associated Press writers Habib Khan in Khar and Asif Shahzad in Islamabad contributed to this report.

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