Five soldiers killed in S. Waziristan clash with militants: military
Five soldiers were killed and seven wounded in a clash with militants in a restive tribal area near the Afghan border, the military said Tuesday.
The militants launched a pre-dawn attack on a military post in a village in South Waziristan where a Taliban commander blamed for the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto is said to be hiding.
“Security forces retaliated with fire causing heavy casualties on miscreants,” the military said in a statement.
Five soldiers died and seven others were injured in the attack on the post in Ladha village, it added.
“The attack was beaten back, the exact number of miscreant casualties could not be ascertained,” the statement said.
Militants have stepped up attacks on troops in the rugged and largely lawless region bordering Afghanistan since Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack last month.
Last week Pakistani troops killed an estimated 90 militants in fierce clashes in South Waziristan, the stronghold of wanted Islamist warlord Baitullah Mehsud and his Al Qaeda and Taliban allies.
Pakistan’s government and the CIA have blamed Mehsud for Bhutto’s death.
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