Pakistan 'seizes home town of Taliban leader'
Plane crashes in hills of Pakistan, more than 150 on board
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By Jack Clark. |  |
Saturday, 24, Oct 2009 02:51
By Lewis Bazley.
Pakistani forces have captured the home town of one of the Taliban's chiefs after fierce fighting in South Waziristan, officials have said.
The symbolic victory in Kotkai comes after days of conflict involving artillery and helicopters that saw three troops and four Taliban killed, security officials said.
Kotkai is the home town of Hakimullah Mehsud, chief of the Pakistani Taliban, as well as one of his deputies Qari Hussain Mesud, also known as "the mentor of suicide bombers".
The army's success is the third time the town has changed hands this week as Pakistan steps up its offensive on South Waziristan region.
Troops were thought to have seized Kotkai earlier this week but the Taliban retaliated on Tuesday, with seven soldiers killed as army checkpoints were destroyed.
The military have since regained control of the town, a significant outpost en route to the major militant base of Sararogha.
"Security forces took control of Kotkai overnight and a clearance operation is in progress," a security official was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.
"It is a major breakthrough because it was the stronghold of Taliban and hometown of Hakimullah Mehsud and Qari Hussain," he added.
Meanwhile, at least 14 people are believed to have been killed in a suspected US drone strike targeting the house of a Taliban commander in the tribal region of Bajur.