The Pakistani Taliban on Tuesday threatened they would launch a guerrilla war once security forces entered the whole of the South Waziristan tribal region, where a military operation is currently underway.
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Azam Tariq said the militants have retreated from various areas in South Waziristan as part of a strategy.
"We have vacated the areas in accordance with our war strategy and our fighters will launch a guerrilla war after Pakistani forces enter deep into all areas (in South Waziristan)," Tariq told BBC Urdu.
The Pakistani military on Tuesday said troops had entered the Taliban stronghold of Sararogha in South Waziristan.
Security forces had earlier secured other militant bases like Kaniguram and Kotkai, the hometown of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud.
Pakistan has mobilised over 30,000 soldiers to flush out an estimated 10,000 Taliban militants and foreign fighters from South Waziristan.
The military says over 340 militants and about 36 soldiers have died so far in fighting though these figures cannot be independently verified as journalists have no access to the conflict zone.
The Taliban have been blamed for a wave of audacious suicide attacks and bombings across Pakistan that has killed hundreds over the past few weeks.
Thirty-five people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself outside a bank near the army's headquarters in Rawalpindi on Monday. PTI
