Parachinar, Pakistan, April 12, 2010, SPA -- More than 100 militants armed with rockets and automatic weapons attacked two security checkpoints in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, sparking intense fighting that left at least 41 insurgents and two soldiers dead, officials said. The clashes were the latest violence in the Orakzai tribal region, where the military launched an operation in March. More than 300 suspected militants have been killed in three weeks of constant air strikes and occasional ground clashes, according to a report of the Associated Press. Security forces successfully repelled the attacks early Monday morning against checkpoints in the villages of Shireen Dara and Sangrana in Lower Orakzai, local administrator Samiullah Khan said. Three soldiers were wounded in the fighting, he said. «More then 100 militants attacked the security checkpoint in Shireen Dara,» Khan said. «They fought a gun battle for two hours and fired several rockets.» --SPA 11:43 LOCAL TIME 08:43 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/768692