WANA, Aug 17: An army soldier was killed and five others suffered injuries when suspected militants attacked a military outpost in the Shakai valley of South Waziristan, officials said on Tuesday.

They said that the attack had been carried out from an unspecified location on Monday afternoon. One of the rockets fired by the militants hit the military outpost, killing one soldier of the Punjab Regiment and injuring five others who were taken to the Zari Noor Brigade Headquarters in Wana.

Sources said that security forces swooped on suspected locations in the Raghzai area near the Afghan border and blocked the area. "Troops are operating in the area with helicopters gunship hovering overhead", they said.

Meanwhile, the Gangikhel tribe, a sub-section of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe, has furnished guarantee to the political authorities to protect security forces in the troubled region and not to shelter militants.

Officials said that elders of the Gangaikhel tribe handed over 25 Russian-made M-16 rifles to the political administration as a guarantee for providing protection to security forces operating in the region.

According to an agreement which was signed here on Tuesday, the tribe would not provide shelter to militants and would endorse the government action against them. In return, the administration would lift sanctions against the Gangikhel tribe.