Pro-Taliban militants have abandoned a fort in Pakistan's troubled South Waziristan region which they had captured during a fierce battle that left seven paramilitary troops and nearly 50 rebels dead.

Five of the 20 Frontier Corps personnel who were reported missing after the battle have reached a nearby village, the army said in a statement.

The militants had withdrawn from Sararogha fort, which was captured yesterday by about 400 rebels following intense overnight fighting.

The militants, armed with rockets and automatic weapons, stormed the fort after blowing up a wall. The fort, located about 80 km from South Waziristan's main town of Wana, was manned by 42 Frontier Corps personnel.

Seven personnel were killed in the fighting while 15 managed to reach another fort in Jandola.

Journalists in Wana had quoted local officials as saying that the Taliban had captured some of the security personnel in the colonial-era outpost along the Afghan border but this was not confirmed by the army.

The army said militants had fired a few rockets at another fort in Ladha last night. The security forces retaliated though there were no reports of casualties.

The area where the Sararogha and Ladha forts are located is a stronghold of the Mehsud tribe and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan commander Baitullah Mehsud.

President Pervez Musharraf [Images] has blamed Baitullah Mehsud for masterminding a string of suicide attacks, including the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto [Images], and recruiting and training suicide bombers in South Waziristan.

Mehsud has denied involvement in Bhutto's killing.