38 Dead in 2 Convoy Bombings in Pakistan

A Pakistani masked tribal militant with assault rifle smashes an audio player seized in a raid at a music market in Khar, the main town of Pakistani tribal region Bajur along Afghan border, Friday, July 13, 2007. A group of 50 masked tribal Islamic militants, who call themselves "Mujahedin" or Islamic warriors smashed video cassettes confiscated from local music shops and demanded an end to vice and adherence to strict Islamic law. Militants in a show off force paraded men they accused of selling illegal drugs through a bazaar in Pakistan's lawless border area with Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Haji Habibullah Khan) (Haji Habibullah Khan - AP)

Military officials said Saturday that Pakistan has dispatched thousands of troops to the northwestern frontier to pressure outlawed Islamic militants preparing to launch a holy war against the government for its bloody attack on Islamabad's Red Mosque.

"With help from local tribal elders, we are trying to ensure that militants lay down their arms and stop issuing calls for jihad against the government," a senior military official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Elsewhere in the northwest Saturday, suspected militants detonated a bomb that struck a vehicle carrying soldiers in the town of Bannu, wounding two, said area police official Mohammed Khan. Two rockets also were fired at a military checkpoint. No casualties were reported.

In the northwest's largest city, Peshawar, two 11-pound anti-tank mines attached to a timing device and battery were found in a car downtown. The car was parked in front of military-affiliated Askari Bank when a small explosion and fire in the vehicle alerted authorities.

Arshad said reinforcements had been sent to the northwest to beef up some 90,000 troops already in the region. Officials say the fresh troops have moved into at least five areas.

No new troops were sent to North Waziristan, but a spokesman for militants demanded that all existing checkpoints be removed there by Sunday.

Abdullah Farhad, who claims to speak for pro-Taliban militants, told The Associated Press the checkpoints violated a 2006 peace accord between the government and tribal elders.

The peace deal is still in effect, but militants have again started attacking government forces in the region. The government has targeted some militant hideouts.

____

Associated Press writers Bashirullah Khan in Miran Shah, Riaz Khan in Peshawar and Zarar Khan and Munir Ahmad in Islamabad contributed to this report.