Civilians Still Trapped in Swat Valley

In the Swat valley, gunshots pierced the air in the battle between Pakistani army and Taliban militants while a helicopter gunships pounded alleged militant hideout in a nearby tribal region, killing at least 18 people, said a trapped civilian.

In other part of northwest, police had caught a key militant commander and six other Taliban fighters, police said.

It may be mentioned that Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters have long had hide-outs in Pakistan’s northwest. The US has forced Pakistan to use force to uproot the militants, who are often involved in attacks on US troops across the border in Afghanistan.

The army offensive in Swat enjoys firm backing from Washington, and reoccupying Mingora city, Swat’s main commercial hub, is key.

As per the army figures, around 10,000 to 20,000 residents are still trapped in the town, which normally has a population of at least 375,000.

“I will try to leave again whenever I get another chance,” Fazal Wadood, 45, a local political party leader, said. “It is like inviting death to stay here anymore.”

About expansion of military offensive, officials have rebuffed reports that the offensive would be expanded to the lawless, semiautonomous tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. Violence continued to break out in those areas, though.

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

In the offensive, at least 18 people were killed, six of them civilians, Wadood 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 Sunday, 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 Saturday night raid.
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