20 troops abducted, 1 killed in Taliban attack on FC Fort

Suspected Taliban militants abducted more than 20 Frontier Constabulary soldiers in an overnight attack on the FC Fort in Mulazai near Tank on Friday that also left a soldier dead and two others injured.
However, seven of the abducted soldiers managed to escape in injured condition later on Friday. Taliban militants claimed responsibility for the attack through their spokesman, terming it revenge for their commander who was killed by security forces. Officials and locals told Pakistan Today that it was a well-organised and coordinated attack on the FC Fort at Mulazai, a small town 30 kilometres from Tank, adjacent to South Waziristan. The militants attacked the fort from three sides at approximately midnight on Thursday. Sources said more than 200 well-armed militants took part in the attack with rocket-propelled grenades and other heavy weapons before storming the main entrance – a rocket attack on which killed Sentry Yaseen Malogoree on the spot – and holding up the personnel inside at gunpoint.
Tank District Police Officer (DPO) Ijaz Abid later told reporters that the militants came on two vehicles and their number could not be determined exactly, but locals said the militants were on five double–cab pickup trucks. He said the attack was stiffly resisted for half an hour by FC personnel, who were not more than 30 in number. He added that the militants took the entire contingent hostage and fled with 16 of the personnel along with them towards the semiautonomous region of FR Tank. The DPO also said the attackers also took with them a huge quantity of arms and ammunition from the FC Fort, which they drenched in petrol and set on fire before escaping.
Another official source said the militants had taken 22 rifles, over 10,000 rounds of assorted ammunition, a wireless set and countless hand grenades. All those kidnapped were junior commissioned officers and jawans. A Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman, who identified himself as commander Asmatullah Shaheen, told reporters from an undisclosed location that the fresh attack was a reaction to the drone attack on October 26, 2010, which claimed the life of their commander Taj Gul. Ironically, Shaheen had announced reconciliation with the government and security forces some two years ago. He has also remained in custody of the security forces for a couple of months in 2009 and 2010.