At least 13 militants were killed in a bombing and a gunfight in Pakistan'srestive tribal areas on Friday, the latest clashes in almost a week of infightingbetween rival Taliban factions.
A total of 56 people have been killed in the violence which erupted onSunday between supporters of commander Khan Said Sajna and followers of thelate Hakimullah Mehsud group in troubled North Waziristan.
Both factions are part of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) umbrellagroup, which has been waging a bloody seven-year insurgency against the state.
Ten insurgents were killed in clashes that began when members of the Sajnagroup came under rocket attack in their car in the town of Shawal, a localintelligence official told AFP.
Militant sources confirmed the clash and casualties.
The feud began after Sajna, a senior commander, was rejected for the TTPleadership following the killing of then-leader Mehsud last November, militantssay.
The TTP has long been riven by infighting.
Sajna had been seen as a strong candidate to become TTP chief followingMehsud's death.
But the movement's ruling council at the last minute elected MullahFazlullah, who hails from Swat and is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.
Separately, Sher Amanullah, a commander of the Haqqani militant network, waskilled along with two others when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle near thetown of Datta Khel, intelligence and militant sources said.
Amanullah is said to be a close associate of Mullah Sangeen Zadran, who wasblacklisted as a terrorist by the United Nations and United States and waskilled in a US drone strike in North Waziristan in September last year.
The Pakistani government began negotiations through intermediaries with theTTP in February to try to end its insurgency.
The militant group has demanded the release of what they call"non-combatant" prisoners and the establishment of a "peacezone" from which security forces would be barred.
A bomb attack at a market in Islamabad on Wednesday killed 24 people, thoughthe TTP denied responsibility.
