Four days of fierce fighting in northwestern Pakistan left 30 soldiers and nearly 100 militants dead on Monday as the army attempted to wrestle control of a remote, mountainous valley from the Taliban and their allies.

Four days of fierce fighting in northwestern Pakistan left 30 soldiers and nearly 100 militants dead on Monday as the army attempted to wrestle control of a remote, mountainous valley from the Taliban and their allies, military officials said.

The army launched its offensive in the Tirah Valley on Friday after weeks of fighting between rival militant groups forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee the area. The valley is located in Khyber, part of the semi-autonomous tribal region bordering Afghanistan, the main stronghold for the Taliban in the country.

The army has launched scores of operations against the Pakistani Taliban in the tribal region in recent years, but certain areas like Tirah have remained outside their control. The Taliban have remained a serious threat and continue to launch attacks throughout the northwest and other parts of the country with frightening regularity.

The fighting in Tirah over the past four days has claimed 30 soldiers and 97 militants, military officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. The air force has also conducted heavy bombing during the offensive, they said.

The officials claimed that the army has successfully seized control of a large portion of the valley from the Pakistani Taliban and their ally, Lashkar-e-Islam. The claims could not be independently verified, the Associated Press reported.

Over 40,000 people have been displaced from the valley since mid-March, according to a recent report by the U.N.'s humanitarian arm. Many of the displaced have sought refuge in the city of Peshawar and other parts of northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. They are in need of food, shelter, health care and clean water, said the U.N.

There is concern that the Taliban could step up their attacks over the next few weeks in an attempt to hamper parliamentary elections scheduled for May 11.

The vote will mark the first transition between democratically elected governments in a country that has experienced three military coups and constant political instability.