Pakistani troops clash with terrorists near Afghan border

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Pakistani forces using Cobra helicopter gunships clashed with insurgents, as violence claimed at least 10 more lives in a border region where Taliban rebels have attacked two forts this week, officials and residents said Friday. "Since early morning I have been hearing gunshots and explosions, and I am receiving calls from local people to come to provide medical aid to the injured," said Alam Sher, a medical orderly in the village of Chakmalai in Pakistan's rebellious South Waziristan province. In a major defeat for the security forces, militants on Wednesday overran the nearby Sararogha Fort after a pitched nighttime battle that left seven of its garrison dead and a number of troops missing. On Thursday, another small fort was reported to have been abandoned by its platoon-sized garrison, after hundreds of militants threatened to storm it.