Pakistan militant phones to deny death

Dera Ismail Khan - A spokesperson for Pakistani militant group called journalists on Thursday to assure them he was alive after Pakistani intelligence officials claimed he was among 30 fighters killed in air strikes in the north-western Khyber region.

The intelligence officials said air force jets had targeted militants belonging to Lashkar-e-Islam, which announced an alliance with the Pakistani Taliban earlier this month, and they named the group's spokesperson, Salahuddin Ayubi, as one of the fighters killed.

"I wanted to talk to you and other journalists and prove that by the grace of Allah Almighty I am alive," Ayubi told Reuters. "I would request our journalist brothers to check news about the killing of our commanders before reporting it to the media."