Troops sent to northwest Pakistan to avert call for jihad

Thousands of troops were deployed to Pakistan's northwestern frontier to try to dissuade outlawed Islamic militants from launching a holy war against the government for its bloody attack on a radical mosque, military officials said Saturday.

As the troop movement proceeded in at least five areas of the North West Frontier Province on Saturday, a suicide bomber struck in another border region, his explosives-laden vehicle killing at least eight soldiers in a military convoy, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said. (AP)