Militants claim Pakistani forts
Tribesmen in South Waziristan support the Taliban
Thursday, 17, Jan 2008 03:05
Two forts in Pakistan's unstable North-West Frontier province have passed into militant hands in a setback to Islamabad's campaign against the Taliban.
Militants seized the Sararogha fort in South Waziristan yesterday after a 12-hour gun battle which ended after the fort's walls were breached by explosives.
Earlier today Saklatoi fort, also in South Waziristan, was reportedly abandoned by Pakistani army forces after the Taliban threatened to assault it.
The attacks took place in the region controlled by tribal leader Baitullah Mehsud, who is suspected of harbouring Taliban militants engaged in fighting coalition forces across the border in Afghanistan.
He is also believed to be behind the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, whose death forced delays to parliamentary elections originally due earlier this month.
Seven soldiers are believed to have died in the attack on Saklatoi fort while several others remain missing. Up to 40 militants were reportedly killed in the fighting.
Those retreating from Sararogha fort were allowed to do so without coming under fire from the 500 militants who had surrounded it, spokesperson Maulvi Mohammed Umar told the Associated Press news agency.
Observers say the loss of the two forts will not be welcomed in Islamabad, which has won international support for its attempts to tackle tribes in the remote mountainous border region.