Army captures 'Taliban hometown'

Pakistan's eight-day-old offensive in the Taliban and al Qaida stronghold of South Waziristan is considered its most critical test yet in efforts to stop the spread of violent Islamist insurgency in the country.

It has prompted a wave of retaliatory attacks by militants this month that have killed some 200 people.

The final battle for Kotkai town killed 13 militants and two soldiers, said an army officer and an intelligence official.

The military has begun to clear the town of landmines and roadside bombs planted by the insurgents.

Kotkai is symbolically important because it is the hometown of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud. It also lies along the way to the major militant base of Sararogha, making it a strategically helpful catch.

South Waziristan is part of Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt, a rugged stretch of land along the Afghan frontier where al Qaida chief Osama bin Laden is rumoured to be hiding.

The US has launched scores of missile strikes in the region over the past year, killing several top militants. The latest one hit the tribal region of Bajur, local government official Mohammad Jamil said.

He said the target appeared to be Faqir Mohammad, a prominent Taliban leader, but that he is believed to have escaped.