Pakistani troops fought street by street yesterday in the town of Ladha, a Taleban stronghold, as the three-week offensive in South Waziristan entered a decisive phase.

The Islamists have laid mines throughout the town, Major General Athar Abbas, the chief army spokesman, told The Times. He said that more than 30 militants had been killed in the fighting since Tuesday. Eight soldiers were wounded.

Ladha is one of the three main Taleban strongholds in South Waziristan. Government forces have already taken control of much of Sararogha, another militant base.

General Abbas said he hoped the army would be able to drive all militants out of of Sararogha, where many top militant commanders are believed to be hiding, in the next few days.

The army then plans to advance on Makeen, the home town of Baitullah Mehsud, the chief of the Pakistani Taleban movement who was killed in August. The town is considered the nerve centre of the militants. Security officials said that most of the terrorist attacks carried out in major Pakistani cities in recent weeks stemmed from the area, which is also believed to be the main al-Qaeda command base.

The army said more than 300 militants and 45 soldiers have been killed since the start of the offensive.

Militants killed two women teachers yesterday in an ambush on a van in another tribal area. Local reports said that ten gunmen opened fire on the van near Khar, the regional headquarters of the Bajaur tribal area.

The Taleban are opposed to the education of girls and have regularly targeted schools and female students and teachers. More than 200 girls’ schools have been blown up in northwest Pakistan by the Islamist insurgents in the past year.

A senior local government official said the attack indicated the militants were still active in the area, even though the Government claimed to have cleared it of the Taleban.

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