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HANGU, Pakistan - Pakistani security forces backed by tanks and artillery attacked Taliban positions in the northwest, killing 22 militants, a senior police official on Monday.

The attack was part of a broader campaign against militants in Pakistan, an ally Washington sees as key to defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Fighting erupted on Sunday night after an assault on militants in the village of Shahukhel, which borders the Taliban stronghold of Orakzai tribal region. [ID:nSP493800]

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ISLAMABAD - Questions raised by India's prime minister about the control of the Pakistani army and Pakistan's aims in Afghanistan are an excuse for delaying the resumption of talks, Pakistan's foreign minister said on Monday.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told CNN on Sunday he was not clear if Pakistan's president was in control of the army and that Pakistan's objectives in Afghanistan were not necessarily those of the United States.

In the interview coinciding with a U.S. visit, Singh also said he was worried about Pakistan's nuclear arsenal falling into the wrong hands and complained that Islamabad had not brought to justice perpetrators of last year's Mumbai attack. [ID:nISL431962]

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KABUL - Two Afghan cabinet ministers are being investigated for suspicion of embezzlement, a deputy attorney general said on Monday, at a time when President Hamid Karzai is under pressure to clean up his government.

Fazel Ahmad Faqiryar declined to name the two ministers, but told Reuters other officials were also being targeted by the inquiry.

"If the ministers insist and don't show up for the interrogation, we have other legal means with which to proceed," said Faqiryar.

Karzai, sworn in last week for a second full-term after an election marred by fraud, has been under pressure from his Western backers to tackle corruption.[ID:nSP466654]

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NEW DELHI - India's parliament was in uproar on Monday over a leaked government report blaming Hindu nationalist opposition leaders for their role in the destruction of an ancient mosque that sparked widespread riots.

Angry lawmakers twice forced the adjournment of parliament and opposition leaders shouted "shame, shame" in the house, blaming the government for leaking the report.

Mobs of Hindu militants tore down a 16-century mosque in the north Indian town of Ayodhya in 1992, claiming it stood on the birthplace of their god-king Rama. It led to clashes between Hindus and Muslims that left hundreds dead across the country.[ID:nDEL426709]

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COLOMBO - Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa has called a presidential election for mid-January, government sources said on Monday, amid speculation the general who oversaw the end of 25 years of civil war is to challenge him.

The president can call elections for a second and final six-year term when he completes his fourth year in office, which for Rajapaksa was on Wednesday.

Government sources said the elections would be held in mid-January. [ID:nSP498096]

(Compiled by Jijo Jacob)

((Bangalore Editorial Reference Unit; RM: jijo.jacob.reuters.com@reuters.net, +91 80 4135 5839, fax +91 80 4135 5001))

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