The Pakistani military says its forces have taken almost complete control of the tribal areas of South Waziristan.
The officer in charge of military operations near the Afghan border said troops had smashed a network of al-Qaeda militants in the area.
Maj-Gen Niaz Khattak said militants were no longer capable of regrouping and attacking security forces.
Hundreds have died in South Waziristan since operations began in March, many of them tribesmen and their families.
Despite the efforts of the military, so far no senior al-Qaeda or Taleban figure has been caught in the area.
Most parts of the semi-autonomous tribal region have traditionally resisted the presence of foreign forces, including Pakistani troops.
Isolated cases
Correspondents say South Waziristan is a virtual war zone.
Gen Khattak said about 200 soldiers had been killed in the area since March this year.
He said that several hundred militant fighters had been killed or captured but could not be more specific.
The general also warned that a few isolated attacks on security forces could not be ruled out.
He denied that any deal had been done with wanted tribal militant Abdullah Mehsud, who orchestrated the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers in October.
Earlier this week, President Pervez Musharraf said al-Qaeda was "on the run" in Pakistan.
But he also conceded that the hunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin laden had gone cold.
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