TANK, March 6: Fierce clashes erupted between local tribesmen and foreign militants in Azam Warsak area of the South Waziristan Agency on Tuesday, leaving 17 people dead, sources said.

Officials in Peshawar told Dawn that 12 Uzbeks, three tribesmen, including a brother of a tribal elder and two Afghan nationals, were among the dead. They said that sporadic firing was continuing in the remote area, about 25 kilometres west of Wana, the administrative headquarters of the South Waziristan Agency.

The sources quoting local people said that the clashes started when some people opened fire on a pro-government elder Malik Saadullah Darikhel near Azam Warsak bazaar, killing his two cousins and a passerby.

Malik Saadullah, who is heading a local peace committee, had recently survived two attempts on his life, which he believed had been carried out by foreign militants living in the area adjacent to the Afghan border.

The attack on the tribal elder infuriated his relatives and a gunbattle ensued. The sources said that activists of the peace committee and fellow tribesmen of the Darikhel tribe, a sub-section of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe attacked foreigners residing in the area and killed 12 of them. One Afghan national and a brother of Saadullah were also killed in the cross-fire.

Reports said that rival groups had entrenched themselves and taken positions on hilltops. About 300 armed volunteers had blocked Azam Warsak-Wana Road.

On the other hand, local Taliban also announced that they would avenge the killing of their companions and would capture the Darikhel tribesmen.

Local Taliban commander Maulvi Nazir and former MNA Maulvi Noor Muhammad have initiated efforts to stop clashes between the two sides. Maulvi Nazir heads the Shura of the local Taliban in the area.

Officials in the tribal agency could not be contacted for confirmation of the news because telephones in many parts of the agency, including Wana, have not been working for about a month.

Malik Saadullah is considered a staunch opponent of foreign elements in the tribal area and he has been organising fellow tribesmen against them.

Some people had attacked the Malik on Sunday, but he escaped unhurt. Earlier, his house in Azam Warsak was attacked, but did not cause any casualty.

According to sources, Malik Saadullah suspects involvement of foreigners in the attempts on his life.

Reuters, AFP add: Azam Warsak and nearby areas were the scene of fierce fighting in 2004, when government security forces launched a major operation against militants commanded by IMU leader Tahir Yuldashev.

More than 100 people were killed in that fighting but Yuldashev, who is accused of a series of bomb blasts in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, in 1999, escaped.

Militants in North and South Waziristan have killed dozens of people, including government officials, tribal elders they accused of supporting the government and people accused of spying for US forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.