PESHAWAR: Hundreds of militants crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan on Wednesday and attacked two border villages in the Upper Dir area, triggering a shootout with a local militia, police said.

At least one person was reported dead in the attacks.

Paramilitary troops and police were sent to the area to help armed tribesmen trying to fend off the insurgents, local police official Gul Fazal Khan said.

It was the latest in a spate of such cross-border attacks, which have raised tensions between Kabul and Islamabad and undermined efforts on both sides to crack down on al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Information from the area is difficult to verify independently because it is remote and dangerous.