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Pakistan targets key Taliban town Pakistan targets key Taliban town
(20 minutes later)
Fierce fighting has broken out as Pakistani troops battle to gain control of the key militant town of Kotkai in South Waziristan.Fierce fighting has broken out as Pakistani troops battle to gain control of the key militant town of Kotkai in South Waziristan.
The army said it had secured the heights around Kotkai- the home of Qari Hussain, the man reportedly responsible for training Taliban suicide bombers. The army said it had secured the heights around Kotkai, home of Qari Hussain, the man reportedly responsible for training Taliban suicide bombers.
The military also dropped leaflets from helicopters urging local tribesman to rise up against the militants.
Up to 100,000 civilians have fled the conflict zone, according to the army.Up to 100,000 civilians have fled the conflict zone, according to the army.
The army says that in the course of fighting overnight soldiers briefly took control of Kotkai village - which is also thought to be the home town of Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud. The army say they have killed nearly 80 militants so far. The Taliban claim not to have lost a single fighter.
But in the morning, the Taliban launched a major attack in the area, destroying army checkpoints and killing seven soldiers. Reports say that in the course of fighting overnight soldiers briefly took control of Kotkai. The town is also thought to be the home of Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud.
Local officials said four Taliban militants were also killed. But in the morning, the Taliban launched a major attack in the area, destroying army checkpoints and killing seven soldiers, local officials said.
Fighting is continuing across the South Waziristan area and both sides are using heavy weapons to bombard each other's positions, the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Dera Ismail Khan says. The officials said four Taliban militants were also killed.
Reports from the region remain sketchy as the army is denying access to both foreign and Pakistani journalists within South Waziristan. Reports from the region remain sketchy as the army is denying journalists access to South Waziristan.
Civilian exodus
Fighting is continuing across the South Waziristan area and both sides are using heavy weapons to bombard each other's positions, the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in the nearby town of Dera Ismail Khan says.
FORCES IN WAZIRISTAN Pakistan army: Two divisions totalling 28,000 soldiersFrontier Corp: Paramilitary forces from tribal areas likely to support armyTaliban militants: Estimated between 10,000 and 20,000Uzbek fighters supporting militants: several hundred Challenges in Waziristan Pakistanis reflect on offensive Profile: South Waziristan
The army has put up checkpoints in Manzai in the west, Jandola in the east, Razmak in the north and Wana in the south-west.
The army has deployed heavy artillery and is using them to bombard Taliban positions in the nearby areas.
The military says it has dropped leaflets from helicopters urging local tribesman to rise up against the militants.
But the exodus of civilians from conflict areas in South Waziristan has continued.
The flow of refugees was unabated on Tuesday and about 8,000-10,000 people were expected to register themselves as displaced, social welfare officials told the BBC.
But officials have warned of several difficulties in setting up camps for those displaced.
A shortage of registration forms meant that new arrivals were not being offered aid and the conservative social customs of the people pouring out of the region also presented difficulties in accommodating them, officials said.