The second declaration of victory in the Bajur tribal region along the Afghan border shows the difficulty of fully pacifying the country's volatile northwest, even with the deployment of thousands of troops.

Maj. Gen. Tariq Khan, commander of the paramilitary Frontier Corps, said Tuesday the latest offensive launched in late January meant that militants in Bajur were no longer able to cross over into Afghanistan to join the fight against U.S. and NATO forces and would find it more difficult to stage attacks inside Pakistan.

AP