In the night of 18 March 2004, the army troops and foreign fighters again engage in a heavy and bloody gun battle occurred wherein infantry troops had repeatedly beaten the assaults after assaults. After days of fighting, the infantry troops gained control of key positions in the mountains which al-Qaeda had previously held. Sporadic fighting continued as the infantry units began to pursue the al-Qaeda foreign fighters. Soon, all the strategic mountain posts were evacuated by the al-Qaeda fighters as the infantry troops had reached the top of the mountains. By dawn, the infantry troops with the help of 20th Mountain Brigade had taken control of the mountains.