A fierce gunbattle between Pakistani security forces and al-Qaeda-linked fighters near the Afghan border left at least 24 people dead, security officials said on Thursday.

Around 20 foreign militants were among those killed, Pakistan officials told AFP, after the fighting erupted in the rugged tribal border region thought to be a possible hiding place for Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

"More than 20 foreign militants have died so far," the  tribal territory's security chief Brigadier Mahmood Shah told AFP.

One paramilitary soldier and three civilians including a woman from the local Mahsud tribe also died in the firefight, which began early Wednesday and continued late into the night, he said.

The firefight started in Shakai village, 35 kms north of Wana, the main town in the tribal South Waziristan district after militants holed up in the area fired rockets at military personnel.

"We have recovered six bodies while seven others were buried in Shakai," Shah told AFP. He said another seven or eight fighters' bodies were lying at the site of the clash. One injured foreign militant was arrested.

Residents said militants launched a fresh attack on a military post in Wana before dawn today but details of any new casualties were not available.

AFP