Today.Az » Politics » Pakistan says 60 militants dead as Taliban resist onslaught
19 October 2009 [08:54] - Today.Az
Taliban fighters mounted fierce resistance as jets pounded their bases and troops bore down on their leader's hometown Sunday, in a major offensive Pakistan says has killed 60 militants, AFP reported.
More than 100,000 people have fled South Waziristan, part of the tribal belt on the Afghan border that US officials call the most dangerous place on earth, staying with relatives or renting accommodation to escape the fighting.
Thousands of Al-Qaeda-linked fighters, heavily armed and well-trained, are holed up in the tribal belt, where the army says the offensive is concentrated on strongholds of the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) movement.
On the second day of the offensive, Taliban armed with rockets and heavy weapons put up strong resistance at Sharwangi, an area of impenetrable forest high in the mountains, as fighter jets bombed positions, officials said.
Six soldiers had been killed since the assault began, including one who died when militants subjected the major military base at Razmak to a rocket attack overnight to retaliate against heavy air strikes, military officials said.
Pakistan said 60 Taliban followers had been killed, although the region is cut off from the outside world and information on casualties is impossible to verify independently.
"In last 24 hours, reportedly 60 terrorists have been killed in operation Rah-e-Nijat," the military said in a statement.
Ground forces launched the three-pronged push on Saturday, starting a much-anticipated assault in a bid to crush networks blamed for some of the worst attacks that have killed more than 2,250 people over the past two years.
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