(RTTNews) - In all, 22 militants were killed in an all-out attack by Pakistani security forces Sunday night on al Qaeda and Taliban strongholds in the country's north-west close to the Afghan border, police said.

Militants fired rocket-propelled grenades while troops responded with artillery and tank fire in the fierce overnight fighting in Shahukhel in Hangu, which borders the Taliban enclave of Orakzai tribal region.

Fourteen militants were held in the operation. While Taliban claimed that both sides suffered heavy casualties, the army denied any of its troops died in the fighting.
Pakistani troops launched on October 17 a major assault targeting Taliban and like-minded militants in the North West Frontier Province along the Afghan border. The more-than-a-month-old military operation, codenamed 'Path to Deliverance,' killed nearly 600 militants.

Both Pakistan and the United States consider it as crucial in defeating extremism in the nuclear-armed country.

by RTT Staff Writer

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