Pakistan troops die in Taliban border raid
Source: Agencies |
August 28, 2011, Sunday
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Print Edition
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HUNDREDS of Taliban fighters crossed from Afghanistan yesterday and killed more than two dozen soldiers and police in northwest Pakistan, officials said.
It was the latest in a series of attacks that Pakistani officials say have been launched from an area of eastern Afghanistan where the United States has largely pulled out its troops. The raids have increased tension between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US.
At least 200 militants crossed into Chitral district, where militant violence is rare, yesterday morning and attacked seven checkpoints run by the paramilitary Frontier Corps, two of which were overrun, the Pakistani military said.
There were conflicting reports about the numbers of Pakistani security forces and militants killed.
The Pakistani military said 25 paramilitary soldiers and police and 20 militants were killed in the fighting. But local police official Nizam Khan said 38 soldiers and police died along with nine militants.
Fighting was still ongoing yesterday afternoon, as Pakistan sent in reinforcements to drive the militants back across the border, the military said.
The military blamed the attack on Pakistani Taliban fighters and their Afghan allies who have taken sanctuary in the Afghan districts of Nuristan and Kunar across the border from Chitral. The US largely pulled out of Kunar about a year ago but recently added additional troops.
The Pakistani military said it has given Afghan and NATO forces intelligence about large pockets of militants in Kunar and Nuristan over the last year, but they have not taken significant action.
It was the latest in a series of attacks that Pakistani officials say have been launched from an area of eastern Afghanistan where the United States has largely pulled out its troops. The raids have increased tension between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US.
At least 200 militants crossed into Chitral district, where militant violence is rare, yesterday morning and attacked seven checkpoints run by the paramilitary Frontier Corps, two of which were overrun, the Pakistani military said.
There were conflicting reports about the numbers of Pakistani security forces and militants killed.
The Pakistani military said 25 paramilitary soldiers and police and 20 militants were killed in the fighting. But local police official Nizam Khan said 38 soldiers and police died along with nine militants.
Fighting was still ongoing yesterday afternoon, as Pakistan sent in reinforcements to drive the militants back across the border, the military said.
The military blamed the attack on Pakistani Taliban fighters and their Afghan allies who have taken sanctuary in the Afghan districts of Nuristan and Kunar across the border from Chitral. The US largely pulled out of Kunar about a year ago but recently added additional troops.
The Pakistani military said it has given Afghan and NATO forces intelligence about large pockets of militants in Kunar and Nuristan over the last year, but they have not taken significant action.
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