15 troops missing after battle in Pakistan
As many as 15 Pakistani troops were missing after several days of fierce fighting with pro-Taliban militants near the Afghan border that left scores dead, the army said today.
The troops disappeared after militants attacked security posts and a foot patrol near the town of Mir Ali in the North Waziristan region, the military said.
The fighting came as Gen. Pervez Musharraf tries to secure another term as president, vowing to shore up Pakistan’s troubled effort against Islamic extremism.
It also coincides with a change of command in Pakistan’s army, which is suffering heavy losses in confrontations with militants who have seized control of loosely governed tribal territory near the border.
The army said earlier that about 150 suspected militants and 45 soldiers had died in three days of fighting in North Waziristan.
A security official in Miram Shah, the region’s main town, said army helicopters and jets bombarded militant positions in several villages.
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