Pakistani troops beat back latest Taliban assualt in the northwest

Pakistani troops beat back yet another massed Taliban assault on a military outpost in the lawless tribal agency of Arakzai.

In today's attack, more than 200 Taliban fighters descended on a Frontier Corps outpost in the Dabori area of Arakzai in an effort to overrun the base but were repelled after three hours of heavy fighting, Daily Times reported. The Pakistani military claimed that 60 Taliban fighters and four Frontier Corps troopers were killed during the battle. Twenty-two Pakistani troops and 70 Taliban fighters were reported to have been injured.

The Taliban have attempted to overrun the Pakistani base in Dabori three times since May 10. On May 18, the military claimed it killed 28 Taliban fighters during a failed assault in the region.

The Taliban were successful in overrunning the Dabori outpost for a short period of time on May 10, when nine Pakistani Frontier Corps troops were killed during the assault. The military claimed that 37 Taliban fighters were killed in the counterstrike.

The Pakistani military has claimed that more than 785 Taliban fighters have been killed in Arakzai since March 21, while in fact, only 23 soldiers, including four today, have been killed, according to Pakistani press reports compiled by The Long War Journal.

US military officials contacted by The Long War Journal are highly skeptical of the Pakistani military's high casualty claims during the fighting in Arakzai.

“The Pakistani military relies on air and artillery to fight the Taliban and often lumps civilian casualties in with the Taliban,” a military intelligence officer said. “If that number was halved it would still be too large.”

The Pakistani military has targeted the Taliban in Arakzai, Khyber, and South Waziristan over the past several months, and claimed to have defeated the Taliban in Bajaur and Mohmand. The Taliban still control large swaths of territory in these tribal agencies, while al Qaeda and allied groups maintain a safe haven in North Waziristan. The Pakistanis have rebuffed US pressure to target the Taliban and al Qaeda based in North Waziristan.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/05/pakistani_troops_bea.php#ixzz1MiTmEOp6