Continuing their ire against girls' education, Taliban militants today blew up a girls school in Pakistan's restive Khyber tribal region, where two soldiers and 10 militants were killed in ongoing operations against the banned radical Lashkar-e-Islam group.

Militants who had rigged the primary school premises in the Landi Kotal sub-division of Khyber Agency, blew it, destroying all the rooms, but caused no injuries.

Islamist militants opposed to girls' and co-education have torched hundreds of schools in the Northwest Frontier Province, mostly girls', in the past two years as they have waged a 'jihad' to enforce a Shariah law.

Pakistani security forces have launched an operation against the Lashkar-i-Islam group led by warlord Mangal Bagh.

In fighting in the Orakzai tribal belt, two soldiers and 10 militants were killed in clashes yesterday in which the Army used helicopter gunships.

According to intelligence reports, many Taliban militants who have escaped from South Waziristan have taken shelter in the autonomous tribal belt.