Pakistan's military used helicopter gunships and artillery to pound suspected hide-outs of Al Qaeda-linked militants in mountains near the Afghan border on Saturday, officials and residents said.
The military launched its assault near Shakai, a remote village in South Waziristan tribal region, where militants are believed to be hiding, but there was no word on casualties.
Wana is 400 kilometres south-west of the capital, Islamabad.
Military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said the assault came after militants stepped up their attacks on security forces in the region in recent days.
He said several suspected militants were killed in an exchange of fire on Thursday.
The military suffered no casualties in Saturday's attack or Thursday's clashes, he added.
A military official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that security forces had retrieved the body of one of the militants killed in Thursday's fighting and he was believed to an Uzbek.
Hundreds of foreign militants, including Arabs, Chechans and Uzbeks linked to Al Qaeda and their tribal allies are thought to be hiding in South Waziristan.
Militant traning area
The forest-laden Shakai has been used as a training area for Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda until recently, officials say.
The military said in June it had destroyed a house of a tribesman near Shakai where al Qaeda men used to stay and had also targeted a militant training camp and an Al Qaeda safe house.
Sultan said militants had been flushed out of the area, which was now under military control.
The Pakistani military launched two major operations in March and June against militants from bin Laden's network in which more than 200 people were killed.
Pakistani intelligence officials say that a large number of militants fled South Waziristan after military operations and had taken shelter in major cities.
The security forces have launched a massive crackdown against Al Qaeda-linked militants in the urban centres and have arrested more than 60 suspects since July, including a computer expert who has proved a key source of information about Al Qaeda plans to launch attacks in Britain and the United States.
Pakistan foils al-Qaeda attacks
From correspondents in Islamabad
August 22, 2004
PAKISTANI security agencies have arrested nearly a dozen al-Qaeda-linked terror suspects who allegedly plotted to attack key sites including military headquarters, the US embassy and parliament.
The arrested men included locals and foreigners, Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat said today.
The arrests were made around the time of country's Independence Day, celebrated on August 14 amid tight security.
Some of the attacks were to be launched during the Independence Day celebrations while the others were planned for other days, Mr Hayat said.
"We have arrested close to a dozen militants including some foreigners and have aborted their plot to create widespread mayhem in the country," he said.
Mr Hayat did not identify the arrested men, but said some of them were suspected to have links with Osama bin Laden's terror network.
"The security agencies have also recovered a large cache of sophisticated weapons which were to be used in the attacks," the minister said.
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