Nov 23, 2009, 12:34 GMT
Islamabad - Soldiers killed at least 32 Taliban militants in Pakistan's troubled north-western tribal region, the military said Monday.
Nine were killed in the South Waziristan district near Afghan border, where troops have been battling a resurgent Taliban militia for the last five weeks.
An army statement said the security forces cleared a strategic location after clashes, and consolidated their positions around Lakhi Ghund and Bunker ridge of the district.
'During the encounter eight terrorists were killed,' it said. Another militant was killed and two soldiers injured in Karam area.
The military was also conducting search operation in the areas wrested back from the militants, clearing the bobby traps and dynamiting the hideouts used by the militants, the statement said further.
Pakistan moved around 30,000 troops on October 17 in South Waziristan, a known hotbed of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants and termed by the US as the most dangerous place.
The operation forced the militants to abandon major towns to the army, which has also established control over the main land routes of the mountainous highlands, previously used to launch attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan's settled areas.
According to army estimates, so far 588 militants and 70 soldiers have been killed in the army operation. The casualty figures cannot be verified through independent sources as journalists and aid workers are barred from the area.
The militants have retaliated by launching a deadly bombing campaign across the country, targeting major towns and killing more than 350 people since early October.
Some of militants have fled to neighbouring tribal districts of North Waziristan and Orakzai, leading to armed clashed with the government forces already stationed in the area.
Twenty-three militants were killed in combat with the army in Orakzai, an intelligence official said Monday.
The fighting occurred late Sunday and Monday morning when dozens of militants tried to raid a security post in Shahukhel area, the official said.
The military offensive in the tribal areas is being watched closely by the US and its allies, as Washington is planning to deploy more troops in Afghanistan.
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