Militants vow 'gift of death' for Pakistani troops

MIRANSHAH (AFP) - Pro-Taliban militants on Monday warned Pakistani soldiers to quit fighting or face more suicide attacks, as peace talks faltered in the conflict-torn area bordering Afghanistan.

The Islamist hardliners threatened that explosives would bring soldiers the "gift of death" in a pamphlet entitled "Till Islam Lives in Islamabad", distributed in the town of Miranshah in the North Waziristan tribal district.

The chilling warning came as Washington reiterated its threat that it reserved the right to launch unilateral strikes against targets in Pakistan's tribal belt, where it says Al-Qaeda and the Taliban have set up "safe havens."

Fighting along the Afghan frontier has intensified amid a nationwide wave of Islamist bloodshed that has killed more than 200 people, mostly security forces, after the July 10-11 raid on the radical Red Mosque in Islamabad.

In the latest attacks Monday, seven Pakistani soldiers were injured in two separate rocket and bomb attacks, a security official told AFP.

The pamphlet, issued by a group calling itself the Mujahedin-e-Islam (Islamic holy warriors), accused Pakistani troops of doing the bidding of the United States and leading impure lives.

"Go to your homes and earn halal (pure) income for your families... instead of serving the Americans," the pamphlet said.

It warned that its suicide attackers "love death more than you love your 5,000-rupee salary, nude pictures of Indian actresses and liquor."