ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Hundreds of insurgent fighters mounted a brazen assault on a key fort in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, seizing it from security forces in a battle that left at least 47 people dead, the military said.
The insurgents later abandoned the fort and melted away into the hills, military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told The Associated Press.
The attack was carried out by fighters loyal to Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, who has been blamed by Pakistani authorities for a succession of high-profile strikes, including the assassination last month of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Mehsud and the military have been engaged in an intensifying battle for territory in the country’s volatile northwest, and Wednesday’s clash reflected the Taliban commander’s growing strength.
The assault, in the remote tribal region of South Waziristan, began just after midnight at Sararogha Fort. The fort was manned by 42 soldiers from Pakistan’s Frontier Corps, and the troops initially repelled the attack by using heavy-artillery fire, according to Abbas. But an hour and a half later, the Taliban fighters returned, this time in greater numbers — between 300 and 400.
The insurgents used explosives to blow holes in the fort’s outer walls, streamed in and began fighting the soldiers hand- to-hand. Seven troops were killed, 15 escaped and an additional 20 were unaccounted for, Abbas said. He said 40 insurgents were killed in the battle.
A purported spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban disputed the military’s numbers.
“We have killed 16 soldiers and have kidnapped 12, while just two of our fighters have been killed in this clash,” Maulvi Omar told the BBC.
While Mehsud has carried out a string of devastating attacks in recent months, the decision to assault the fort head- on reflected an even bolder strategy than he has exhibited before. In the past, Mehsud’s fighters have carried out suicide attacks on military convoys, as well as hit-and-run strikes against Pakistani government checkpoints and facilities.
“It really carries a lot of significance,” said Fazal Rahim Marwat, a professor at Peshawar University. “This is another daring step on the part of the militants, and it seems that they are getting stronger.”
