Islamabad, Nov 22 (DPA) The Pakistani armed forces said Sunday that troops killed five militants in the ongoing anti-Taliban offensive in the tribal region near the Afghan border.

Around 30,000 soldiers launched the operation, codenamed ‘Path to Deliverance’, Oct 17 in the South Waziristan district, which was described by the US as the most dangerous place on earth, littered with Taliban and Al Qaeda sanctuaries.

In five weeks of intense fighting, the army has captured most of the militant towns and gained control of the key land routes in the rugged territory that was also used by insurgents to mount attacks on the Western forces stationed in Afghanistan.

A gunfight near the town of Sararogha, once the nerve centre of the Taliban network, left five ‘terrorists’ dead, the Pakistan Army said in a statement Sunday. One soldier was wounded in the encounter.

Infantry units were conducting search and clearance operations across the combat zone, swooping on militant hideouts and defusing explosive devices planted to strike the advancing security forces.

The army says it has so far killed 579 militants, including Uzbek fighters, while suffering more than 70 casualties.

None of the figures could be verified independently as the area is out of bounds for journalists and the only source of information is the regular military updates.

The Taliban have retaliated by increasing their attacks in Pakistani towns and cities, killing more than 350 people since early October.

The government has vowed to continue its efforts until the last militant is eliminated.

It is believed that many of the Taliban rebels, earlier estimated at nearly 10,000, have fled South Waziristan to the neighbouring tribal districts of North Waziristan and Orakzai.

The US is closely watching Pakistan’s operations to quell Islamist insurgency in the restive borderlands, as Washington discusses plans to boost the number of troops stationed in Afghanistan.