A copy of the leaflet in Urdu that was dropped in Wana, South Waziristan. (Reuters)

Wana, April 2 (Reuters): Pakistan is sending fresh troops to its lawless tribal region near the Afghan border as part of its campaign to clear the country of al Qaida and other foreign militants, intelligence officials said today.

More than 120 people were killed in a 12-day offensive in the South Waziristan tribal region that ended on Sunday and one intelligence official said a sweep of North Waziristan was now being considered.

About 3,500 fresh troops had been sent to reinforce more than 13,000 military and paramilitary troops already deployed in the rugged region, the official said. “The fresh troops reached South Waziristan yesterday,” he said.

Pakistan has mounted its biggest campaign to pacify the lawless and largely autonomous tribal region on the Afghan border and clear the area of foreign fighters.

The offensive follows two assassination attempts on President Pervez Musharraf in December that he linked to militants hiding in the tribal area.

As Pakistani forces hunt on their side of the border, US forces have mounted an operation on the Afghan side in what the Pentagon has called a “hammer and anvil” action to catch al Qaida leaders, possibly including Osama bin Laden.

Pakistani leaders say they have no idea where bin Laden and other al Qaida leaders are, but several hundred al Qaida fighters, believed to include Arabs, Afghans, Uzbeks and Chechens, are believed to have escaped the recent fighting.