Militants Overrun Pakistan Army Base (As Many As 25 Troops Missing) [View All]

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Source: CBS News/AP

As Many As 25 Troops Missing, Feared Dead Along Treacherous Border With Afghanistan

(CBS/AP) As many as 25 troops were missing and feared dead after Islamic militants armed with rockets overran a remote military outpost close to the Afghan border, the military said Wednesday. It claimed 40 attackers were killed in the fight.

"About 200 militants charged the fort from four sides" late Tuesday, said army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas. "They broke through the fort's wall with rockets."

"Fifteen of the troops in the base escaped and they have reached (the town of) Jandola while 25 others have scattered and there is no news how many of them were martyred or fled," he said.

The border region has emerged as a front line in the war on terror since Pakistan allied itself with the U.S. following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Washington has given Pakistan billions of dollars in aid to help government forces battle militants.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/16/world/main3719023.shtml