ISLAMABAD, March 6 (Xinhua) -- At least 15 people were killed on Tuesday in a clash between Uzbek militants with alleged al-Qaeda link and armed tribes people in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal region, the Geo Television reported.

    The fighting in Azam Warsak, a village in South Waziristan, broke out after militants tried to assassinate a pro-government tribal elder, Malik Saeedullah Khan, said the report.

    The militants opened fire as Khan, the head of a government-backed peace committee, passed through the village bazaar, and tribesmen fired back.

    The report said that 12 Uzbek militants, one Afghan shopkeeper and two tribals were among the 15 dead.

    Many al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters sneaked into Pakistan's northwest tribal areas to seek shelter from local tribes people following the fall of the Afghan Taliban regime in 2001.

    The Pakistani government have sent around 80,000 troops to the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan to hunt foreign militants since joining the Washington-led international war on terror in 2001.

    As part of Pakistan's holistic strategy to hunt militants and maintain peace in tribal areas, the government has entered into some peace agreements with local tribal elders in Waziristan through political dialogue. ¡¡