Pakistan Troops Attack Cleric Stronghold

10/26/2007

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) - Security forces opened fire Friday on a stronghold of a militant cleric in northwestern Pakistan, sparking a fierce gunbattle near the scene of a suicide attack on a military truck that killed 20 people, police said.

"The security forces attacked a building where Maulana Fazlullah had been appearing in recent days to urge his followers to target Pakistan army, police and other security forces," said Muhib Ullah, a local police official.

There was no immediate word on casualties.