Pakistani army struggles to hold ground
Plane crashes in hills of Pakistan, more than 150 on board
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By Richard James. |  |
Tuesday, 20, Oct 2009 11:45
By Sarah Garrod.
Fierce fighting in Pakistan has left troops struggling to gain control, with nearly 80 militants killed.
The army is trying to control Kotkai, in South Waziristan, the home of Taliban leaders Hakimullah Mehsud and Qari Hussain.
Pakistan's army said as many as 100,000 civilians have fled the area, and at least seven soldiers were killed as the Taliban attacked army checkpoints today. The Taliban claim not to have lost any of its militants, despite Pakistan's claims otherwise.
Both sides are using heavy weapons to bombard each other's positions, the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in the nearby town of Dera Ismail Khan said.
Reporters near to the control zone say the army has put up checkpoints in Manzai in the west, Jandola in the east, Razmak in the north and Wana in the south-west, and that the army and the Taliban are engaged in a propaganda battle for the sympathies of the Mehsud tribe.
The military say it has dropped leaflets from helicopters urging Mehsud tribesmen to rise up against the militants and to support the government offensive. But a statement issued by the Taliban to the BBC warned Mehsud tribesmen of retaliation if they supported the government.