MIRANSHAH: At least seven Pakistani troops were killed and 26 injured on Thursday when militants ambushed a convoy in a restive tribal area bordering Afghanistan, security officials said.

The paramilitary soldiers were securing the route when they were attacked in Sarobi village, near Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan region, the officials said.

Pakistan says it has deployed 80,000 troops in the lawless tribal belt to hunt militants who sneaked across the rugged frontier after Afghanistan's hardline Taliban regime was toppled by US-led forces in late 2001.