The Battle of Wanna was a March 2004 military engagement between the Pakistan Army and members of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda at Azam Warsak, near the South Waziristan town of Wanna. The army troops and intelligence paramilitary soldiers faced an estimated ~500 al-Qaeda foreign fighters holed up in several fortified settlements. The fighting ended with 17 soldiers dead. It was speculated at the time that Osama bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri was among those trapped by the Pakistan Army, but he either escaped or was never among these fighters. After weeks of fighting, the ISPR admitted that it was actually Tohir Yoldeshev, leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, who was hiding there. Background Wanna () is a small town inhabitant by the Mehsud and Wazir Tribes. The town is situated in complex series of White mountains range in western Pakistan. The town closely aligned with Tora Bora area of adjacent country, Afghanistan. In early months of 2002, Pakistan Army sent and deployed large formation of Infantry and Mountaineering Divisions. The Mountaineering and Infantry Divisions were deployed under the command of Lieutenant-General Ali Jan Aurakzai, who later became Governor of North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The Army Divisions entered the Tirah Valley in the Khyber Agency for the first time since Pakistan independence in 1947. The troops were later proceeded to move into the Shawal Valley of North Waziristan, and later South Waziristan. In late December 2003, the tension between Pakistan Government and the Waziri tribes mounted as the tribe leaders viewed the action as an attempt to subjugate them. Military Intelligence According to the reports of the military intelligence, there were ~500–600 al-Qaeda fighters in the region; all militants were Chechens, Uighurs, Uzbeks, Arabs and Tajik fighters. By March 19, 2004, a team of ISI's Covert Action Division (CAD) secretly inserted in the Shin Warsak area, where they confirmed the High-value target presence. The media reports claimed that it was Ayman al-Zawahiri hiding in the area and might be holed up in one of the areas. In describing the military intelligence reports, President Musharraf testified that: We feel that there may be a high-value target. I can't say who. The ferociousness of the surrounded fighters indicated that they were protecting someone particularly significant. After a week of fighting, the ISPR testified that military intelligence sources have confirmed that one of the top al Qaeda leader, Tohir Yo‘ldosh, has been