Pakistan kills 19 militants in border offensive

By Asif Shahzad, Associated Press Writer –

Mon Oct 26, 2009, 8:19 am ET

ISLAMABAD –

Pakistan (Army) killed 19 suspected (Pakistani members of Taliban) and lost six soldiers in fighting inside a Taliban stronghold close to the Afghan border, the army said Monday as (Taliban fighters) elsewhere in the frontier region struck back with deadly attacks.

The fierce clashes in South Waziristan and regions further north showed the difficulties facing Pakistan's stretched army as it seeks to root out (Taliban fighters) close to its northwestern border, from where Western officials say they also plan attacks on targets inside Afghanistan.

The army moved into South Waziristan nine days ago vowing to crush the Pakistani Taliban, a (movement) it says is behind 80 percent of the suicide bombings in Pakistan. The (Taliban fighters) have responded with an onslaught of terror attacks on targets around the country.

Many schools in Pakistan reopened Monday after being shuttered for a week following warnings of insurgent strikes and a double suicide bombing at a university in the capital on Tuesday.

An army statement said soldiers were progressing on three fronts in South Waziristan, but were meeting resistance on all of them. It said over the last 24 hours, 19 (Taliban fighters) and six soldiers had been killed.

Independent verification of army claims is very difficult because the military has blocked access to South Waziristan and other tribal regions on the border.

(Taliban fighters) have extended their influence across much of the tribal regions in recent years. Under U.S. pressure, the army has moved against them in several places, but questions remain over their commitment to the fight.

To the north, (Taliban fighters) assaulted security officials in Hangu, killing two and wounding four in a three-hour shootout, police officer Mir Chaman Khan said. Some 10 insurgents were believed to have been killed.

In Bajur, a tribal region further north, Taliban fighters attacked a checkpoint at Matthak village, killing four security officials. Seven (Taliban fighters) died in the clash, said Syed Ghulam Rasool, a local government official. The militants also attacked security check posts at Khar, the main town in Bajur, and Siddiqabad, an adjoining village, wounding at least three security personnel.

Taliban attacks in Pakistan have surged this month, killing more than 200 people, as the Taliban have tried to avert the army offensive in South Waziristan. The military announced Saturday it had captured the hometown of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud — its first major achievement in the offensive.

The army has deployed some 30,000 troops to South Waziristan to take on an estimated 12,000 militants, including up to 1,500 foreign fighters, among them Uzbeks and Arabs. The U.N. says some 155,000 civilians have fled.

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Associated Press writers Ashraf Khan in Islamabad, Habib Khan in Khar and Hussain Afzal in Parachinar contributed to this report.