12 militants killed in Pakistan

Pakistani troops have killed 12 Taliban militants in the ongoing operation in country's northwest, the army said Saturday.

Five soldiers, including two officers, were also injured in the clashes that took place in three militant strongholds in South Waziristan - a remote, mountainous district that is located near the Afghan border.

Pakistani troops started the assault, codenamed Path to Deliverance, in mid-October to purge sanctuaries of Taliban and Al Qaeda militants carrying out attacks on NATO-led international forces in Afghanistan and targeting civilians and officials in Pakistan.

The military officials say that more than 450 rebels have been killed in the over two-week offensive, and "the militants were fleeing, leaving their ammunition behind".

Taliban have dismissed the claim, saying they were making a strategic retreat from their strongholds to the mountains in order to continue a guerrilla war against the government forces.

The military has suffered only 42 fatalities in the operation that Pakistan says is crucial in its struggle against rising Islamic militancy.

The operation came after the government forces used aircraft and artillery fire for weeks to soften up the rebels' defences. Neither of the claims can be verified because journalists have been banned from the area.

A military statement on Saturday said that the security forces killed eight "terrorists" during the process of securing Makeen, the headquarters of Taliban in South Waziristan where they moved into a day ago.

"During clearance operation, three soldiers including two officers got injured due to terrorists' fire. Huge quantity of arms and ammunition has been recovered from different compounds of Makeen," said the statement.

Four more Taliban died in fighting with the troops in Sararogha, another militant bastion where the troops are engaged in street fights with the Taliban. Elsewhere, two soldiers were injured in rocket fire from the insurgents.

The Taliban have recently intensified suicide bombings and raids against civilian and official targets in the urban centres in retaliation for the Waziristan operation, which has been hailed by the US.

Last updated on Nov 7^th, 2009 at 16:48 pm IST--DPA