By DPA,
Islamabad : At least 11 soldiers and 40 militants died in fierce clashes in Pakistan’s troubled northwestern region, security officials said Monday.
Around half of the casualties occurred in the South Waziristan tribal district where nearly 30,000 soldiers have been fighting an estimated 10,000 Taliban guerrilla fighters for the last 11 days.
The army claimed on Monday that troops had secured the important village of Ghalai and the adjoining ridges, as they pushed deep into Taliban strongholds in the mountainous area borders Afghanistan.
The combat left 10 “terrorists” and six soldiers dead, while 14 soldiers were wounded, a military statement said.
Seven Taliban rebels were killed and five security personnel injured elsewhere in the district that has been turned into one of the global hubs of Islamic extremism in recent years.
The military announced its first major victory in South Waziristan at the weekend when troops captured the strategic town of Kotkai after days of intense clashes.
Kotkai is the birthplace of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud and the hometown of his close aide, Qari Hussain, known as “the mentor of suicide bombers.”
According to the military officials, the fighting in Waziristan so far has killed 200 insurgents and 30 soldiers.
As the military advances in the Taliban heartland, the insurgents seemed to be expanding the battle to the neighbouring districts.
About two dozen militants armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades conducted a surprise raid on a checkpoint in the Mattak area of the Bajaur tribal district Monday, triggering an intense fight that killed four soldiers and injured two
more.
“The security forces successfully repelled the attack, killing six terrorists and injuring four others,” said a local intelligence official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The army carried out a five-month offensive against Islamist insurgents in Bajaur in late 2008 and early 2009.
Despite government claims of success, the Taliban have continued their attacks on government and civilian targets.
On Saturday, an army helicopter crashed in the same area, killing six soldiers on board. The two pilots survived.
Separately, 15 Taliban were killed Monday during an attack on a security post in Hangu, a district in the North-West Frontier Province, which borders the ungoverned tribal region.
The pre-dawn attack in Torawarai village also left one soldier dead and three wounded.
“After exchanging heavy fire, the militants retreated with several comrades injured,” local police officer Mirzali Khan said by phone.
Troops pounded suspected militant positions after the attack, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Western leaders are closely watching the Waziristan operation as a crucial test for the Islamic country’s counterinsurgency efforts.
The offensive has displaced more than 160,000 people, with nearly 78,000 fleeing the war zone in the past 10 days, according to the officials.