Pakistani troops have entered the last major Taliban stronghold in South Waziristan. Twenty-four Taliban fighters have been reported killed during fighting over the past 24 hours, according to the Pakistani military.

The soldiers are storming the town of Makeen, where former Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud lived. “The house of Baitullah Mehsud has been raised [sic] to ground,” according to a press release published by the Inter Service Public Relations, the Army’s public affairs office.

Twenty-one Taliban fighters are reported to have been killed during the first day of fighting in Makeen. “Terrorists are fleeing leaving behind their weapons and ammunition,” the statement read. The military also said it seized control of two important intersections.

Makeen is one of five major Taliban towns in South Waziristan. The military has already taken control of Kotkai and Kanigoram, is currently clearing Sararogha and Ladha.

The military has claimed that more than 440 Taliban fighters and only 40 soldiers have been killed since the Army launched an operation against the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan on Oct. 17.

The military is close to completing its goal of ejecting the Taliban from the main towns and villages in South Waziristan before the winter snows set in later this month.

The Taliban have denied taking heavy casualties and claimed their forces are conducting a tactical defeat in order to lure the Army into a trap and wage an insurgency. Taliban leader Hakeemullah Mehsud purportedly was heard on the radio imploring his followers to fight to the death if ordered.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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