Sararogha Fort raid

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Sararogha Fort raid


caption=
partof=the War in Pakistan (2004–present)
place=South Waziristan, Pakistan
date=January 15-16 2008
result=Militant victory
combatant1=flagicon|Pakistan Pakistani Army
combatant2=flagicon|Afghanistan|Taliban Pro-Taliban militants
commander1=
commander2=
strength2=200-700
strength1=42
casualties1=7 killed, 15 missing
casualties2=2 killed (Taliban claim [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7193281.stm BBC NEWS | South Asia | Army 'flees second Pakistan fort' ] ] )
40-50 killed (Pakistani claim)The Sararogha Fort raid occurred on 15-16 January 2008 when several dozen Islamic militants overrun a paramilitary fort in South Waziristan, Pakistan, killing or kidnapping many troops. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7191200.stm BBC NEWS | South Asia | Militants overrun Pakistan fort ] ]

Details

Some 200-700 militants charged the fort from four sides and broke through the fort's wall with rockets. Seven Pakistani frontier guards died in the assault and 15 were listed as missing.Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said 40-50 attackers died in the surprise attack. Fifteen members of the 42-man Frontier Constabulary garrison reached safety in Jandola, an army base about 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of the occupied British-era fort.http://www.pr-inside.com/militants-overrun-pakistani-border-fort-r389671.htm]

Soldiers returned fire and the battle went on until early on next day's morning. People in the Sararogha area told that the exchange of fire went on for four hours. They said the militants entered the remote military outpost and started shifting weapons and troops they had captured out of the fort. A military official said that tribal fighters have since withdrawn from the fort.

Aftermath

The capture of Sararogha Fort represented the first time the militants managed to isolate and capture a strongly defended government position since October 2007, when they seized several isolated police stations and small military posts in Swat valley, another volatile region in the country's north. The government has since recaptured the valley.

The day after the Sararogha Fort raid, another Pakistani security outpost near the border with Afghanistan was reportedly abandoned by government troops. The army, however, said that all troops had not left the post at Siplatoi. [ [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EA53A69D-1973-4C86-8064-D4FCB4C40FB1.htm Al Jazeera English - News - Pakistani Troops 'Flee Border Post' ] ]

References