WANA, Oct 16: The Pakistan Army dropped leaflets in Wana, the regional headquarters of South Waziristan, seeking public support in the fight against foreign militants.

The coloured leaflets in Urdu and Pushto were dropped from army helicopters on Saturday afternoon, locals said.

"Is this the reward for hospitality?" read the banner lead of the pamphlet.

The leaflets also contained pictures of a Tajik militant captured by a local tribe and turned over to the authorities last month as well as an Uzbek fighter killed in clashes with security forces in the region, while referring to the tragic death of four children in a landmine explosion on Oct 1.

The pamphlet reminded tribesmen that on the day the funeral of those four children was held, Shamankhel tribesmen had chased three suspected militants and following an exchange of fire, shot and killed one and caught another alive. Their third accomplice had managed to escape, it said.

The one caught alive turned out to be a militant from the central Asian republic of Tajikistan while the dead militant was identified as an Uzbek.

The pamphlet said the 17-year-old Tajik militant, Khalid, had admitted to planting the landmine which killed the four children. "The arrests and deaths of these ruthless terrorists are a proof of their presence in the region. What could be more painful than the fact that even small, innocent children were not safe from their atrocities," it said.

"Can anyone say whether this was a true reward for hospitality in line with the great tribal tradition or jihad. For how long would these terrorists and their local protectors continue to deprive mothers of their children," it said.

Praising the Shamankhel tribesmen for chasing and fighting foreign militants, the army pamphlet hoped that all tribes would get united and cleanse the tribal territory of militancy and turn it into an enlightened, peaceful and prosperous region.