Battle of Mir Ali

The Battle of Mir Ali was a bloody military engagement occurred between 7 October and 10 October 2007 and involved Taliban militants and Pakistani soldiers around the town of Mir Ali, Pakistan (North Waziristan), the second biggest town in the semi-autonomous region on the border with Afghanistan.

Timeline of the battle
According to the Pakistani Armed Forces, the clashes broke out on 7 October after militants set off improvised explosive devices and conducted ambushes on a Pakistani convoy, near the town of Mir Ali. The subsequent engagements killed nearly 200 people. The army says the casualties were militants and soldiers but local people reported at least ten civilians were among the dead. Hundreds of people fled Mir Ali after more than 50 houses were damaged in the fighting.

After a number of attacks on military convoys, near Mir Ali, the Pakistan Army sent helicopter gunships and Pakistan Air Force jet fighters to target suspected militant positions in several villages around that region.

The military reported that 50 soldiers went missing in the area during the clashes, but that contact had been established with 37 soldiers. The other 13 remained missing.

On 9 October, according to the Pakistani Army, military aircraft struck "one or two places" near Mir Ali. There were unconfirmed reports that about 50 militants had been killed. But later reports from witnesses stated that 50 people were killed, and it was a mix of civilians and militants killed when a bazaar was hit.

On 10 October, thousands of tribesmen gathered in the village of Epi to bury 50 people killed when about one dozen explosions destroyed shops and homes, residents said.

Truce
On 15 October, Pakistani soldiers and tribal fighters in the northwestern province of North Waziristan agreed to a truce, and the Pakistani forces lifted the curfew over the area. This truce was over by the end of the month.