Pakistani security forces have eliminated al-Qaida-linked militants from a mountainous tribal region bordering Afghanistan after months of gun battles that killed hundreds on both sides, a senior Pakistan army commander said Saturday. Maj.-Gen. Niaz Khattak, who is leading the hunt for militants in South Waziristan, said that as many as 600 militants were in the region last year. “According to our intelligence reports, now we think there is absolutely none in South Waziristan,” Khattak told journalists at the Karavan Manza mountaintop army bunker during an organized tour of the northwestern region.Full Story