Islamabad - The Pakistan Army claimed Friday it had killed 14 Taliban militants in the ongoing security operation in the restive tribal district of South Waziristan near the Afghan border.

Two soldiers also died due to "terrorist" mortar fire and three were injured in a roadside bombing, said a military statement.

The statement further said the security forces were closing on an important militant base Sararogha, the operational headquarter of the former Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.

Mehsud died in a US drone attack in early August. His clansman Hakimullah Mehsud now leads his around 10,000-strong guerrilla fighters.

Pakistan launched an offensive in Waziristan against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants, who have turned the mountainous district into a major hub of global terrorism, on October 17.

Around 190 rebels and 34 soldiers have died in the fighting, according to the army officials. The figures cannot be independently verified because the authorities have banned access to the region.

The United States has hailed the Waziristan assault and assured Pakistan of full support.

"These extremists are committed to destroying that which is dear to us as much as they are committed to destroying that which is dear to you and to all people. So this is our struggle as well," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters this week in Islamabad.

"We will give you the help that you need in order to achieve your goal." (dpa)