In the most serious incident, troops rained fire from guns and artillery on militants holed up in a health center in the Bajur region, killing 30 and wounding many more, said military spokesman Maj. Murad Khan.

The military assessed the toll with the help of intercepted radio traffic among the insurgents, he said, claiming that no troops were hurt in the hours-long battle.

In what appeared to be separate incidents, police said eight militants died and 10 were wounded when government forces fired on suspect vehicles in two areas of Bajur on Wednesday morning.

The reported casualties could not be verified independently. Few reporters work in the tribal region for fear they could become a target in the conflict. Spokesmen for the militants could not be reached for comment.

Troops are engaged in bloody offensives against violent Islamic extremists in the northern Swat valley and in Bajur, a region considered a launchpad for Taliban operations into neighboring Afghanistan and a possible hideaway for al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden.

Officials say hundreds of militants have died in the weeks-old operation, while residents say civilians have also been killed in incidents including mortar strikes on their homes.

An estimated 200,000 people have fled to safer areas.

In a sign that a third front in the struggle may be opening up, the military said between 75 and 100 militants assailed a military fort in the South Waziristan region at about midnight Tuesday.

Troops guarding Tiarza Fort and a checkpoint on a nearby bridge “responded effectively and repulsed the attack,” a military statement said.

It said 11 militants died and between 15 and 20 were wounded, but made no mention of any casualties among the troops.

Suspected militant hideouts in South Waziristan have been targeted in a stream of suspected U.S. missile attacks, including one that killed a senior al-Qaida commander in July.

Aminullah Wazir, a shopkeeper in Wana, the region’s main town, said security forces imposed a curfew in the area Wednesday. Shops were shut and the streets deserted, he said.

“We heard shelling and gunfire almost all night,” Wazir told The Associated Press by telephone.

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