 Hundreds of Islamist militants overran a Pakistani paramilitary fort near the Afghan border Wednesday, sparking fierce fighting that left seven troops and up to 50 rebels dead, the army said. Another 20 troops were missing after insurgents armed with rocket launchers and assault rifles blasted their way into the remote outpost at Sararogha town in the rugged South Waziristan tribal district.
The area is said to be a stronghold of Baitullah Mehsud, a tribal warlord with alleged links to Al-Qaeda who is accused by the government of masterminding the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. "Around midnight 400 miscreants attacked the Frontier Corps at Sararogha. The fort was captured by militants, we are taking stock of the situation," chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP. "There are reports of 40 to 50 dead miscreants, while seven personnel embraced martyrdom."
Lol!
| The deaders are the bad guyz, whilst the "martyrs" are the Pak troops. Baitullah, of course, would report it the other way around. |
The attack, believed to be the first time Pakistan has lost one of its tribal area forts, highlighted growing insecurity ahead of elections on February 18 which were postponed because of unrest sparked by Bhutto's killing.
| The words "apalling ineptitude" immediately spring to mind. |
Military sources said the Islamist fighters besieged the remote post in darkness before blowing up part of the walls using explosives, storming inside and taking control of the building. Abbas said soldiers responded with artillery before fleeing. Of 42 troops manning the fort, 15 had escaped to a separate base while the whereabouts of the remaining "stragglers" was not known, he added.
"They're dead, Jim."
 The army said it repulsed a similar attack by around 300 militants in South Waziristan last week, killing around 50 of them. Seven troops and 23 rebels died in a clash on Monday in the separate tribal area of Mohmand, it added.
| Wonder if that incident made any difference in the alert status of the other forts? |
Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militancy has intensified in the mountainous tribal belt since Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf ordered troops to crush an uprising at the radical Red Mosque in Islamabad in July.
| Actually, it's indigenous to the area. Lal Masjid=effect of tribal belt, not cause. |
Insurgent leader Mehsud is accused by the government of ordering most of the attacks in Pakistan in the past year from his hideout in South Waziristan, including Bhutto's killing at an election rally on December 27. He has denied any role in Bhutto's assassination.
| It also has nothing to do with this incident that anyone can see. |
Militants also took over swathes of the Swat valley, also in northwest Pakistan, and proclaimed Islamic law before being chased into the mountains by troops.
| Those "militants" were primarily the TNSM, rather than Baitullah's tough guyz. TNSM is to the Taliban as Pony League is to major league baseball. |
The violence in Pakistan has raised international fears for the stability of the nuclear-armed US ally in the "war on terror" ahead of the general elections. Pakistan's foreign ministry Wednesday issued a stern warning against any international military strikes on Pakistani territory, following reports that Washington was considering covert action in the tribal areas. "Without Pakistan's permission, without Pakistan's involvement, any action by a foreign government on Pakistan's territory will be an enemy act," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told a weekly briefing.
"Because pakistan's sovereignty is full and complete, on all of its territory. Really." |