I gotta tell ya, this is one of the bloodiest single battles that has occurred in Pakistan in quite some time as today the Taliban attacked a military outpost and when the smoke, blood and guts cleared there were 10 Pakistani soldiers dead and 40 Taliban jihadis dead.
From the report at Breitbart:
Dozens of people were killed in clashes between Pakistani soldiers and militants in the northwest region on Tuesday, security officials said, casting further doubts on exploratory peace talks with the rebels.
Fighting erupted when militants attacked a security post in the Jogi area of Kurram tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, said the officials.
At least 10 soldiers were killed and 32 others wounded, while 40 militants died and 30 were injured after Pakistani forces retaliated and gunship helicopters were called in for support, the officials said.
The death toll could not be independently verified and militants often dispute official accounts.
The story alludes to the fact that this could put a damper on peace negotiations...hahaha...ya think? Let's be frank - do you think that if the Taliban were serious about "peace" they would blatantly and fully attack an outpost like this? And for 40 Taliban to end up dead with 30 wounded, you can see how large a force of Taliban was involved in this attack. This was probably the largest number of Taliban in one spot in one helluva long time. And quite frankly, the Pakistanis can kick themselves for their banning of U.S. drone strikes in the region - there's no way in hell the Taliban are going to group up like this if there's the possibility of a couple of drones overhead with four or so hellfires on board.
Dozens killed as Pakistani army, militants clash
(Reuters) - Dozens of people were killed in clashes between Pakistani soldiers and militants in the northwest region on Tuesday, security officials said, casting further doubts on exploratory peace talks with the rebels.
Fighting erupted when militants attacked a security post in the Jogi area of Kurram tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, said the officials.
At least 10 soldiers were killed and 32 others wounded, while 40 militants died and 30 were injured after Pakistani forces retaliated and gunship helicopters were called in for support, the officials said.
The death toll could not be independently verified and militants often dispute official accounts.
The Pakistani Taliban, allied with al Qaeda, and the Afghan Taliban movement fighting Western forces in Afghanistan, are entrenched in Pakistan's northwestern tribal areas.
A series of military offensives have failed to break the group.
Exploratory peace talks between Pakistan and al Qaeda-linked Taliban have made little progress so far, and previous peace deals have failed to improve security.
Pakistan's army and air force have been conducting operations against militants in Kurram since the beginning of the year. Fighting has been particularly intense in Jogi.
At least four soldiers and 30 militants were killed during clashes last week.
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