Pakistan today signalled the end of its anti-Taliban offensive in the Swat Valley.

Investigators searched a wrecked luxury hotel in north-western Pakistan for evidence today after a bold suicide bombing killed 11 people, including aid workers, in what the UN condemned as a “heinous terrorist attack”.

The military offensive to expel the Taliban from Pakistan’s Swat Valley could take another two months and troops may have to stay for a year to prevent them from retaking control, commanders said today.

The Pakistan military says it has regained control of the largest town in the Swat Valley from the Taliban.