CNews MIRANSHAH: Around 50 Pakistani soldiers are missing after gunbattles with Islamic militants in a troubled tribal area that have already claimed 80 lives since the weekend, the army said Monday.
The soldiers have been out of radio contact since the morning in rugged North Waziristan, a region bordering Afghanistan where the United States says Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network and the Taliban are regrouping.
News of the missing soldiers comes as a fresh blow to the army, with militants already holding more than 200 Pakistani soldiers in another part of the insurgency-plagued ethnic Pashtun tribal belt.
Violence has spiked in the troubled region since Pakistani security forces besieged and then raided the Al-Qaeda-linked Red Mosque in Islamabad in July -- an operation that Osama bin Laden has urged militants to avenge.
"We have reports of around 50 troops missing. They are out of communications and their whereabouts have not been found," chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said.
The soldiers went missing as they were moving from place to place following fresh clashes near Mir Ali, the second biggest town in North Waziristan, Arshad said.
The military said earlier that the death toll from fierce clashes on Sunday in the same region had risen to 60 militants and 20 soldiers.
Troops backed by gunship helicopters launched an assault against militant bases and hideouts in retaliation for attacks on military convoys overnight on Friday, sparking hours of intense battles.
Nearly 300 people in Pakistan have died in attacks since the Red Mosque crisis, most of which have been suicide bombings. A further 250 militants have been killed in clashes with security forces since then, the army says.
Pro-Taliban militants are also holding more than 200 Pakistani soldiers in nearby South Waziristan district since abducting them in late August, apparently without the troops firing a shot.
Three of them have been killed by militants to press their demands for an end to military operations in the tribal areas.
The insurgents also recently released a video of teenage militants beheading one of 15 soldiers who were kidnapped in a separate incident earlier in August in South Waziristan. The others were released.
The soldiers have been out of radio contact since the morning in rugged North Waziristan, a region bordering Afghanistan where the United States says Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network and the Taliban are regrouping.
News of the missing soldiers comes as a fresh blow to the army, with militants already holding more than 200 Pakistani soldiers in another part of the insurgency-plagued ethnic Pashtun tribal belt.
Violence has spiked in the troubled region since Pakistani security forces besieged and then raided the Al-Qaeda-linked Red Mosque in Islamabad in July -- an operation that Osama bin Laden has urged militants to avenge.
"We have reports of around 50 troops missing. They are out of communications and their whereabouts have not been found," chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said.
The soldiers went missing as they were moving from place to place following fresh clashes near Mir Ali, the second biggest town in North Waziristan, Arshad said.
The military said earlier that the death toll from fierce clashes on Sunday in the same region had risen to 60 militants and 20 soldiers.
Troops backed by gunship helicopters launched an assault against militant bases and hideouts in retaliation for attacks on military convoys overnight on Friday, sparking hours of intense battles.
Nearly 300 people in Pakistan have died in attacks since the Red Mosque crisis, most of which have been suicide bombings. A further 250 militants have been killed in clashes with security forces since then, the army says.
Pro-Taliban militants are also holding more than 200 Pakistani soldiers in nearby South Waziristan district since abducting them in late August, apparently without the troops firing a shot.
Three of them have been killed by militants to press their demands for an end to military operations in the tribal areas.
The insurgents also recently released a video of teenage militants beheading one of 15 soldiers who were kidnapped in a separate incident earlier in August in South Waziristan. The others were released.
