Meanwhile, intelligence officials said suspected U.S. missiles killed two militants in the adjacent region of North Waziristan — a potentially troubling strike because it hit territory controlled by another militant faction the army has coaxed into neutrality during its offensive.

The five-day-old offensive in South Waziristan is considered a critical test of nuclear-armed Pakistan’s campaign against Islamist extremists blamed for rising attacks at home and on Western forces in Afghanistan.

In Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire at a Pakistani military vehicle Thursday, killing two soldiers, police said.

The fight for the town of Kotkai is symbolically important because Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud and a top deputy, Qari Hussain, hail from there. Kotkai is also on the way to the major insurgent base of Sararogha. Security forces on another front also cleared the heavily fortified village of Khaisura, the army said in a statement.

The army reported that its death toll had reached 16 and that 105 insurgents had been killed.

It is nearly impossible to independently verify information coming from South Waziristan because the army has closed off all roads to the region. Analysts say both sides have exaggerated successes and played down losses in the past.

– Reuters

POLAND