Troops of Pakistan army take position at the site of helicopter crash in Mujhoi, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan's Kashmir on Monday, 08 Oct. 2007

Pakistan's military say at least 130 militants and 45 soldiers are dead after three days of clashes in the troubled tribal region of North Waziristan.

Earlier Monday, the Pakistani military reported at least 50 soldiers had gone missing during the fighting.

An army spokesman says the battles began after pro-Taleban militants ambushed a military convoy late Saturday near the town of Mir Ali. Security forces and helicopter gunships then retaliated, attacking the militants.

Local residents say at least four civilians died in the fighting, but the military could not confirm the claims.

The unrest comes as former intelligence chief General Ashfaq Kiani was sworn in as the new vice-chief of the army. General Kiani took up the new post Monday. He will take over as army chief if President Pervez Musharraf resigns from the position as promised.

General Musharraf won another term as president during a parliamentary ballot on Saturday.

But the Supreme Court says he cannot be confirmed as the winner until it rules on whether the president was eligible to run while still army chief.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.