Pakistan army confront Taleban fighters

Published on Saturday 23 May 2009 18:58

PAKISTANI security forces have entered the main town in a northwestern valley where Taleban fighters are holed up, engaging the militants in fierce street fights, the army's top spokesman revealed yesterday.

Capturing the town of Mingora is critical to Pakistani efforts to regain the Swat Valley and prevent it from being a safe haven for insurgents increasingly threatening the Muslim nation's stability. It could prove a major test for a military force more geared towards conventional warfare on plains than bloody urban battles.

Maj Gen Athar Abbas also disclosed that at least 17 alleged militants had been killed over the previous 24 hours in the offensive.

The military operation has strong support from Washington. Insurgents in northwestern Pakistan also launch attacks across the border on US troops in Afghanistan.

The military says more than 1,000 suspected insurgents have died so far in the month-old offensive.