Pakistani army lost five of its troops Thursday while fighting pitched street battles in Taliban bases in the troubled South Waziristan district near the Afghan border. Security forces killed 28 militants and arrested five others in the process, the military said.
Sixteen of them were killed in the strategic town of Sararogha, where intense gunfights were going on.
The soldiers were killed when one of the mines the militants planted on the road to slow down troop movement exploded.
Militants fired rockets at Mangora Sar and Ghundai Gar. Large number of arms and ammunition were seized from them.
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 insurgents death toll reached 422 Thursday, while the number of soldiers killed crossed 40.
The all-out military offensive has triggered one of the biggest evacuations that South Asian country has witnessed, with up to 250,000 civilians fleeing the rugged, mountainous conflict zone.
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