Image via WikipediaThe brazen attack on Friday was followed by a statement to media in which the militants said they would kill the abducted troops.
Armed with only assault rifles, at least 35 militants targeted the Frontier Corps fort in Tank district before dawn, said local police chief Ejad Abid. The militants burned down buildings and captured a significant amount of weapons, he said.
One soldier was killed and two were wounded in the fighting, said Abid.
Another 15 are still missing and believed to have been kidnapped, he said.
Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to The Associated Press and said it was carried out to avenge the death of a local Taliban commander. He claimed 30 soldiers were kidnapped.
But another Taliban commander who said he carried out the attack, Asmatullah Shaheen, told the AP that he had 15 soldiers in his custody.
Ehsan said the Taliban have no intention of bargaining for the soldiers' release and intend to kill them.
"We are going to cut these soldiers into pieces one by one, and we will send these pieces to their commanders," said Ehsan.
Tank is located near the border with South Waziristan, an important sanctuary for the Pakistani Taliban. The Pakistani military staged a large offensive there in 2009, but the militants continue to operate in the area.
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