The Hindu : Front Page : 7 killed as Taliban takes Pakistan fort

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Thursday, Jan 17, 2008
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7 killed as Taliban takes Pakistan fort

Nirupama Subramanian

ISLAMABAD: At least seven Pakistan paramilitary personnel were killed after Taliban militants captured a fort manned by the Frontier Corps in South Waziristan. The whereabouts of 20 others are not known.

The military said 300 militants attacked the Sararogha fort in the northwestern tribal area on Tuesday night and took control of it.

A military spokesman said while 15 personnel escaped to an Army base in Jandola, 35 km away, seven others were killed and 20 were missing.

Local media reports suggested that the militants might be holding some of the troops hostage.

South Waziristan is a stronghold of the Al Qaeda-linked Beithullah Mehsud, Taliban militant leader whom the government named the mastermind of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.

Militants also killed

The military said 40 militants were also killed in the fighting, which went on for several hours on Tuesday.

It was not clear if the militants continued to occupy the fort.

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