Militants claiming to have abducted scores of Pakistani troops near the Afghan border demanded yesterday that the army withdraw from the area, as talks aimed at securing the soldiers' release continued, a militant spokesman and officials said.

Separately, a bomb killed at least four people and wounded 10 more at a market in South Waziristan's main town of Wana.

A delegation of some 60 tribal elders, clerics and lawmakers met government officials in Wana yesterday, a day after talks with militants ended without signs of a breakthrough.

"Their deliberation is going on. Now let's wait and see what result it gets," said Major General Waheed Arshad, the army's top spokesman.

The army says more than 150 soldiers have gone missing, trapped by fighting between pro-government tribesmen and militants, although other officials say the troops were abducted.

An intelligence official in the region said yesterday that militants abducted 205 troops - 135 army soldiers, 70 paramilitary troops - and seized 20 military vehicles. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make media comments.

Ten other troops have been missing since late Saturday in Mohmand, another tribal area north of South Waziristan, Arshad said. He did not elaborate.

A militant spokesman claimed the abductions both in South Waziristan and in Mohmand and accused authorities of violating a February 2005 peace deal.

"We have detained 300 security forces... they are our in prisons," said Zulfiqar Mehsud, a man who claims to speak for Baitullah Mehsud, a militant commander in South Waziristan who was party to the 2005 agreement.

"Unless the government comes back to the agreement ... there are no chances for the jirga (tribal council) to succeed."

Under the deal, the militant commander was granted amnesty in return for his promise not to attack security forces or harbor foreign militants.

"The government should pull out army troops from the area and should not set up new security posts," the spokesman said.

The militants also demand the release of 15 suspected fighters who have been arrested in Pakistan in recent weeks, the intelligence official said.

Arshad said that he was not aware of any militant demands. He blamed militants for violating the deal by launching attacks on security forces and denied the agreement provided for a military pull back.

Pakistan's military is grappling with a deteriorating security situation along the Afghan border, amid a spike in attacks by pro-Taliban fighters and fears Al-Qaida is regrouping in the region.

Meanwhile, militants warned soldiers to leave the region in pamphlets distributed in Mir Ali, a town in the neighboring North Waziristan tribal area.

(China Daily via agencies September 3, 2007)