MIRAMSHAH, April 20: At least eight paramilitary soldiers were killed and 27 others wounded when a convoy of security forces was ambushed near Miramshah on Thursday.

A security official said at least five attackers were killed when soldiers fired on them after a chase.

The incident triggered panic across North Waziristan and troops backed by Cobra helicopter gunships launched a hunt for the assailants.

Witnesses said army and paramilitary soldiers cordoned off Spilga village, where the ambush had taken place, and blocked the Miramshah-Razmak road at the Aisha checkpoint.

“Security forces asked the villagers to remain indoors,” a resident told Dawn by phone from the besieged village.

Officials said scouts of Mohmand Rifles of the Frontier Corps, who were being moved for deployment ahead of an army convoy, were ambushed near the village, some 15km west of Miramshah, at about 7.30am.

They said rockets fired by the militants hit a security forces’ truck, killing the eight soldiers on the spot. They said 27 others were injured and their vehicle was destroyed.

The officials said that the injured were airlifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Bannu.

Saeed Khan, a resident of Spilga village, said the attackers did not belong to the tribal area.

In another incident, five soldiers were wounded when a paramilitary truck was struck by a remote-controlled bomb on Spinwam Road on Wednesday. The forces were moving towards Datakhel area.