Pakistan fort overrun by miscreants

AP/Houston Chronicle:

Islamic militants overran a military outpost close to the Afghan border in a battle that killed seven Pakistani soldiers and left 20 missing, the military said today. It claimed 50 attackers also died.

About 200 militants charged the Sararogha Fort from four sides late Tuesday, breaking through the walls with rockets, said army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas.

Fifteen men from the garrison reached safety in Jandola, an army base located about 22 miles east of the Sararogha Fort, Abbas said.

It was the first time rebels captured a government position since October, when they seized several police stations and military posts in Swat valley, another volatile region in the country's north. The government has since recaptured the valley.

Abbas said the fort was manned by the paramilitary Frontier Corps. He said government artillery had shelled the region.

It was not immediately possible to verify the army's claim that 50 attackers died in the assault; in the past the rebels have given much lower figures for their own casualties.

Sararogha Fort — which dates back to the British colonial period — is one of several dozen such posts located along South Waziristan's mountainous border with Afghanistan. Government forces based there monitor and patrol the frontier, a principal staging area for the transportation of weapons crossing into Afghanistan.

The military setback will likely contribute to the impression that the government of President Pervez Musharraf is failing to contain a growing Islamist insurgency ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for Feb. 18.

...

The paramilitary Frontier Corps has been very ineffective in dealing with the Pakistan miscreants. Many of their units have been overrun or captured. Pakistan needs to provide better training for these troops and better support. It also needs better situational awareness of enemy movements so they can better defend these outpost.

It appears that the enemy used swarm tactics in overwhelming the outpost by attacking from all our sides. Apparently the layout of the fort was such that this could be done with shooting their on forces. If the Pakistan claim of enemy casualties is correct, it was a costly "win" for the miscreants who will not be able to hold it.

CNN has an image of the "fort" that suggest a less than strong defensive position. There report said there were 40 defenders in the position at the time of the attack, and they put the casualty figures for the attackers at 40 dead. Normally these outpost should be set up with other bases which can coordinate a defense and offer mutual fire support. It is possible the attackers may have been killed by artillery support from other bases, but the story does not indicate that. The fortress looks more substantial in the BBC photo.

Gateway Pundit has a roundup of other reports on the attack some of which put the number of attackers as high as 1000. I am skeptical of such numbers. It is very hard for a force that size to get into place for a "surprise" attack. It is possible that retreating troops who gave the report were trying to justify their flight from the battle. Bill Roggio also reports on the attack.

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