KHAR, August 12, 2008 (AFP) - Six civilians and 16 Taliban were killed Tuesday when Pakistani helicopter gunships shelled militant hideouts in a tribal area where days of clashes have left scores dead, officials said.

The deaths happened in the troubled Bajaur region bordering Afghanistan, a haunt for Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants where Pakistani troops have been fighting fierce battles with rebels for the past week.

Five civilians were killed and three others injured when helicopters pounded suspected militant positions Tuesday in Takht village, 10 kilometres (six miles) south of Khar, the main town in Bajaur, officials and residents said.

Separately, an 11-year-old boy was killed and his six-year-old sister was wounded in clashes in Sevai village in Bajaur on Tuesday, they said. More than a dozen houses were also destroyed, they added.

Helicopters later shelled areas east of Khar for about 45 minutes when they spotted militants 'preparing for an action against government forces,' a local administration official told AFP.

Sixteen militants were killed in the attack and their bodies were still lying on the ground, the official said.

An Arab Al-Qaeda militant was killed in an airstrike by Pakistani fighter jets in Bajaur on Monday but had not yet been identified, security officials said.

Local intelligence sources said the man was an Egyptian named Abu Saeed al-Masri, but there was no confirmation from officials in Islamabad, and there are no wanted Al-Qaeda militants by that name.

The officials said they were investigating unconfirmed reports that the name was the alias of Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, an Egyptian Al-Qaeda commander based in Afghanistan.

Military officials said that six civilians and 50 militants were killed on Monday. At the weekend, security forces said that nine soldiers and 100 militants had been killed during the previous four days.