Eight people were killed and 11 injured on Wednesday in an exchange of fire between security forces and militants in the remote town of Wana near the Afghan border. The clash occurred after a military vehicle hit a landmine during a patrol in South Waziristan, an administration official in the district capital Wana said.

The exchange of fire erupted soon after the explosion in which three soldiers were injured, senior official Khan Baksh told AFP.

"Six people, all local tribesmen were killed on the spot and two more died in the hospital," he said, adding that around a dozen were still in the hospital with bullet wounds.

Military officials said the civilians died in firing by "miscreants".

"The tribesmen were killed by the firing of miscreants after the landmine explosion," military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told AFP.

He said authorities had rounded up 28 suspects and were interrogating them.

Local people said the vehicle was hit near the Wana bazaar.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2004