Pakistan army takes key Taliban strongholds

PAKISTANI troops battling the Taliban have captured several points in the Swat Valley’s main town, the army said yesterday, including a spot nicknamed “bloody intersection” because militants routinely dumped the mutilated bodies of their victims there.

Elsewhere in the northwest helicopter gunships pounded alleged militant hide-outs in a tribal region, killing at least 18 people, while police said they had captured an important militant commander and six other Taliban fighters.

Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters have long had hide-outs in the north-west. The US has pushed Pakistan to use force to root out the insurgents, who are often involved in attacks on US troops across the border in Afghanistan. The operation in Swat has strong support from Washington, and retaking Mingora, the valley’s main commercial hub and urban centre, is considered critical to its success.

A military statement yesterday said forces moving from street to street secured eight crossings while encountering at least 12 roadside bombs. One secured spot is Green Chowk, which earned the “bloody intersection” tag due to the terrifying spectacle of the Taliban victims.

Five suspected militants were killed in various parts of Mingora, while 14 others were arrested, the army said. It has said 10,000 to 20,000 residents are still stranded in the town, which normally has a population of at least 375,000.

One trapped civilian said on Saturday night that gunshots were ringing through the air, first continuously and then at intervals. He said he had tried to flee the city twice but failed due to the fighting and lack of transportation.

“I will try to leave again whenever I get another chance,” said Fazal Wadood, a local leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N party. “It is like inviting death to stay here.”

Officials have downplayed reports the army would soon expand the offensive to the lawless, semiautonomous tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. Violence has continued to flare in those areas.

Yesterday morning in the Orakzai tribal region, helicopter gunships pounded suspected militant targets in multiple locations, including a religious school, local government official Mohammad Yasin said.

At least six civilians were among the 18 dead, he said, adding that the targeted spots were strongholds of Hakeemullah Mehsud, a deputy to Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud. Hundreds fled the area amid the fighting, he said.

Also yesterday , police in nearby Charsadda district said they caught seven Taliban militants during a raid on a religious school. They included Qari Ihsanullah, a Taliban commander suspected in attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Charsadda police chief Riaz Khan said.

“We recovered three suicide jackets, explosives and assault rifles,” he said of the raid.

The military says about 1,100 suspected insurgents have died so far in the month-long offensive in Swat and neighbouring districts.

Some 1,500 to 2,000 hard-core insurgent fighters remain in Swat, the army says.

The offensive has triggered an exodus of 1.9 million refugees, more than 160,000 to relief camps.