Up to 400 armed men gathered in the remote town of Miranshah near the Afghan border on Thursday and forcibly occupied the irrigation department, a telephone exchange and several other buildings, a local administration official said.

But the men, most of whom were students of a local madrasa run by a hardline pro-Taliban leader, vacated the premises seven hours later following talks mediated by local tribal chieftains, the official told AFP.

"They were protesting the government raid in Saidgai village on Wednesday which killed up to 40 militants, including some foreigners," he said.

"They were led by Maulvi Abdul Khaleq, a hardline pro Taliban leader, and leader of the seminary."

A provincial government statement said the town's bazaar was also occupied by the "miscreants" -- Pakistani jargon both for local militants and al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents who fled Afghanistan in late 2001.

Wednesday's raid on the militant hide-out came two days before US President George Bush, on his first tour of South Asia, was due to visit Pakistan for talks with President Pervez Musharraf on the "war on terror".

One soldier died and 15 others were wounded in the attack.