The Taliban claimed to have killed 17 Pakistani soldiers in an attack in the northern district of Upper Dir yesterday. Seven of the soldiers are reported to have been beheaded.
Pakistani officials said that more than 100 Taliban fighters had crossed the border from Afghanistan and clashed with Pakistani troops, according to Dawn. Six soldiers were killed and 11 more were captured by the Taliban fighters. Intelligence intercepts indicate that seven of the soldiers were beheaded; the bodies have not been recovered, however.
Sirajuddin Ahmad, a spokesman for the Malakand Taliban, which operate under the command of Mullah Fazlullah, claimed credit for the attack and said 17 soldiers were killed.
"Our fight will continue until the establishment of sharia law in Pakistan .... We will fight whoever tries to stand in our way," Ahmad told Reuters.
