Pakistani soldiers killed an estimated 1,000 militants in the region during the last month and is well on its way to breaking key Taliban and al-Qaida strongholds, said Maj. Gen. Tariq Khan, noting the region is one of Pakistan's most unstable tribal areas.

"If they lose here, they've lost almost everything," Kahn said Friday. "If we do not take any action it will become an independent agency spreading out terror in all directions."

Twenty-seven Pakistani soldiers died in fighting in the region during the last month, Kahn told the BBC in a story broadcast Saturday.

Pakistan's new government is under pressure from the United States to take stronger action against militants in the regions bordering Afghanistan, the BBC reported.