At least 12 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in a series of bomb blasts and an exchange of fire with fighters in the northwest region of the country.

Osama bin Laden praised martyrdom in a new videotape posted on a Web site on Sunday by Al Qaeda’s media production wing.

The British military death rate in Iraq is proportionally worse than that of the United States, for the first time since the 2003 invasion, The Sunday Telegraph newspaper said.