Soldiers used artillery, helicopter gunships and fighter jets against the insurgents, accused of beheading 17 Pakistani soldiers in June.
The battle was the culmination of weeks of operations in the remote valleys of the Batwar area of Bajaur tribal agency near the border. It highlighted once again the difficulty of preventing insurgents from crossing the border to launch attacks or flee from Pakistani or Nato forces bolstering the Afghan government.
Around 400 militants had crossed from Afghanistan into Pakistan on August 23 and attacked villages, said a senior security official based in Khar, the main town of Bajaur. The army launched operations that killed around 120 militants, another security official said from the border town of Peshawar.
Twenty-five soldiers also died in the fighting. "The militants escaped to their sanctuaries in Afghanistan and even left the bodies of their slain fighters," said the Peshawar-based official.
He said the armed forces were now establishing posts along that section of the Afghan border to thwart future incursions. A spokesman for the militants confirmed the attacks were staged by fighters from several regions. Pakistan and the United States, which has by far the largest foreign contingent in Afghanistan, have accused each other of failing to secure the border.
Some US officials say Pakistan deliberately lets some insurgents through, a suggestion Pakistan strongly rejects. Joint efforts to secure the long and mountainous border were hampered by a Nato strike against a Pakistani base last November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and severely damaged relations between Pakistan and the United States for several months.
A bomb in Peshawar killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 30 on Wednesday, police said. The bomb seemed to be targeting a van carrying officials from the Pakistan Air Force, said local police official, Imtiaz Ahmad.
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@Saif Khan: Since arrival of in Afghanistan Us is using their hightec weapons against Talban alongwith NATO. But apprenetly it seems they are failed and earliest announce to vacate the same territory due to avoid huge defeat. Taliban have no Tnaks of Artarly force, No fighter jet of Air force even they have no latest weapons but they are fighting against enemies and achieve their goal. Consequently US and NATO forces shall be leaving this region in 2014
I don't how the Pakistani army is killed in that number by these Talibans who don't even have that much budget as Pakistani Army is having. I think 80% of the total budget of Pakistan in spent on the army and we still cannot defeat these Talibans???
@Cautious: US rapid air support does not come for free, both in terms of civilian casualties, actual dollar cost and most importantly, the strings attached and backdoor deals that would remove any last shred of honour for Pakistan.
Seven thousands soldiers killed in this war and crimminals are still there, something is clearly hidden from the nation.Is army really fighting with taliban or is playing game with the nation.Who will answer the loss of our soldiers.Will we see the court marshall of some of the generals for bluff games.90 billions Rs go to the army every month and performance??:
Pak Army, Please don't kill all. Leave few to welcome Imran Khan.
@Naseer: Drones are more effective than Air-force jets. Pakistan lost the opportunity of US drones attacks against TTP by its refusal to launch operations in NW. US and NATO forces shall be leaving this region in 2014 and in all probabilities Pakistan would be facing both Talebans together who have pledged to enforce sharia in Pakistan by force. Best of luck.
@anwar:
I dare the pak army to go into Afghanistan. Pak army is only good at economic activities (of course with the field tilted towards it)
@ US Centcom....Thanks...Hope a better coordination can wipe out this danger for ever.
Go after them in Afghanistan. No point waiting.. here
@Chopper: You don't see "that many soldiers crossing over into Afghanistan" because the war is in Afghanistan and spilling over into Pakistan, not the other way around.
What a rubbish peace of editing and journalism. Misleading heading and data. No wonder E.T reputation has seriously gone down over the last few months or so.
@maria. Rubbish - if the USA is supporting the TTP then explain the ET article which discusses one of their leaders being taken out by drone attack. Is that another USA conspiracy? Conspiracy theorist have one thing in common - they got extraordinary lengths to avoid the obvious.
First and foremost, our condolences go out to the friends and families of the brave soldiers who lost their lives in this cross border incursion. Our nations continue to pay the highest price in fighting terrorism. We’ve already lost thousands of brave soldiers in fighting these terrorists on both sides of the border. It only makes sense for us to work together and negate the threat posed by these terrorists. We restate what Richard Hoagland, the charge d ’affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, said recently: “In this dangerous world where terrorists can strike at any moment, we must all work together – Pakistanis and Americans alike – because we have a strong mutual interest in defeating terrorism.”
Do we still have AIR FORCE? Modern day fights are not fought the old fashioned way. If we successfully kill all the intruders, they will not dare to cross the border again.
I have a feeling the Pakistani Army casualties are much higher. Just wait for more details to filter out.
Article indicates that Pakistan soldiers were supported by artillery, attack helicopters, and jets -- if so why are the Pakistan casualty rates about the same as the Taliban who typically are armed with AK"s and RPG's? Perhaps the Pakistan army should consider negotiating a deal with the USA where you can call in their rapid air support?
There is no threat from the Eastern front therefore extra troops should necessarily be shifted to Western border to secure decisive victory against TTP which is of paramount importance for raising morale of the security forces and safety of people of Pakistan.
@Nadir, typical silly comparison by desi "liberals". Yes, 25 soldiers killed and we do care that's why we responded by killing 120 terrorists.....something we didn't do when US killed our soldiers.
Casualities are very high on the military side but hope it has emerged victorious as claimed by the military and no soldier has been taken hostage by the TTP.
Headline is misleading, 120 terrorists killed and 25 soldiers martyred over the weeks of operations but the headline makes it look like their was a fresh clash which left 25 soldiers dead.
Anyways, I've never heard of such a huge number of militants infiltrating Afghanistan from Pakistan but this type of incursions are frequent from Afghan side, really makes it clear there is at least some sort of support from Afghan government and NATO.
25 soldiers dead, no one cares, if US had killed them, we would have mass protests. Well lets keep on giving peace a chance because poor innocent Taliban will just drop their weapons when the US leaves right?