MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan — Pakistani aircraft bombed a village bazaar packed with shoppers near the Afghan border yesterday, pushing the death toll to 250 in four days of fighting — the deadliest clashes since Pakistan threw its support behind the American-led war on terror in 2001.

The attack on Epi village in North Waziristan tribal region killed dozens of militants and civilians — deaths that are likely to harden domestic opposition to President Musharraf’s alliance with Washington.

The bazaar was crowded with people buying food to break their day-long Ramadan fast when it was rocked by a dozen explosions that destroyed shops and nearby homes, residents said.

Abdul Sattar, a grocery shop owner, said he counted more than 60 dead and more than 150 wounded, including many civilians. Many of the victims were mutilated.

“Some did not have heads, hands or legs. Some people were searching for their children and women,” Mr. Sattar told the Associated Press by telephone from Epi.

An army spokesman, Major General Waheed Arshad, said military aircraft targeting militant hideouts struck “one or two places” near the town of Mir Ali — located about 2 1/2 miles from Epi — and local tribesmen reported about 50 militants were killed. He said the airstrikes might have killed some civilians who were living in the areas where militant hideouts were targeted, but he had no exact numbers.

“We had confirmed reports about the presence of militants, and the air power was used to target those militant hideouts,” he told the AP.

Another resident, Noor Hassan, said both militants and civilians were killed and that he was fleeing the area. He said the nearby village of Hader Khel also was bombed.

The fighting broke out in North Waziristan on Saturday after a roadside bomb hit a truckload of paramilitary troops, sparking bitter clashes.

The bodies of dozens of soldiers, many with their throats slit, have been recovered from deserted areas of the region, fleeing residents said.