At least five soldiers were killed early Tuesday morning when militants attacked their post in Pakistan's tribal area of South Waziristan bordering Afghanistan, the military said.

The militants launched a pre-dawn attack on a military post in a village in South Waziristan where a militant commander, Baitullah Mehsud, blamed for the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto is said to be hiding.

"Security forces retaliated with fire causing heavy casualties on miscreants," the military said in a statement.

Five soldiers were killed and seven others were injured during the attack in the Ladha village, it said, adding "the attack was beaten back, the exact number of miscreant casualties could not be ascertained."

Militants have stepped up attacks on troops in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan since Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack last month.

Last week, Pakistani troops killed some 90 militants in fierce clashes in South Waziristan, stronghold of rebel leader Mehsud and his Al Qaeda, Taliban allies.

As troops continued their attacks on militants' positions in South Waziristan, chief of the so-called Pakistan Tehreek-i- Taliban Mehsud Monday warned of serious repercussions if the military operations were not stopped, according to local media reports.

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2008)