PARACHINAR, Pakistan (AP) — A government administrator says fighting between soldiers and militants over a strategic mountaintop in northwest Pakistan has killed nearly 60 people in the past week.
Wajid Khan says militants attacked soldiers trying to hold the top of Jogi mountain in the Kurram tribal area on Tuesday, sparking fresh clashes that killed seven soldiers and 25 militants.
Khan said soldiers initially seized the strategic location from militants a week ago in fighting that killed six troops and 20 insurgents.
The area is home to militants loyal to Pakistani Taliban commander Hakimullah Mehsud.
The military has launched a series of offensives against the Pakistani Taliban in the country’s semiautonomous tribal region near the Afghan border over the past few years.
