Dozens of militants raided a Pakistani paramilitary checkpoint near the Afghan border Wednesday, triggering a gun battle that killed two militants and one soldier, military sources said. The gun battle lasted three hours after the overnight attack by between 70 and 80 militants on the checkpoint at Ladha in South Waziristan tribal region, a military official said on condition of anonymity. Five soldiers were wounded. âThey attacked the post and physically occupied it. We sent our people and they got that post back,â the official said. He said two militants and one soldier were killed. The army spokesman was not immediately available for comment, but the attack was confirmed by other officials. Ladha is about 30 kilometres north of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, where thousands of troops are deployed. It is about the same distance to the southwest of the scene of last weekâs military operation.
| I guess I was wrong. The Bad Guyz went southwest instead of north... |
A government official in Wana said on condition of anonymity that the attackers fired rockets in their assault on the checkpoint and that five paramilitary soldiers were injured in the attack. He said the bodies of the dead militants, who appeared to be Uzbeks, have been moved to the base in Ladha. In a statement Tuesday, the army vowed the militants would be âeliminatedâ unless they surrendered to the government.
| I don't think the idea's caught on yet, though... |
In a separate attack early Wednesday, three rockets were fired at a government building in Sarwokai, about 50 kilometres east of Wana, but missed the target. No one was injured. |