"We have deployed troops to prevent sabotage activities," local administration chief Syed Mohsin Shah told AFP.

The troop movement comes after intelligence reports of increased numbers of militants entering Tank, which adjoins the volatile tribal region of South Waziristan bordering Afghanistan.

"We had reports that around 200 militants entered the town," Shah said.

Fighting in Tank on Wednesday between Taliban and security forces left six civilians dead and 17 others, including five security personnel, wounded.

On Monday, militants threw grenades at a paramilitary vehicle in the town, killing a soldier and sparking exchanges of rocket and mortar fire that left one civilian dead.