In Swat,troops engage Taliban in street fighting

Pakistans offensive against the Taliban entered a decisive phase on Monday with troops engaging militants in street-to-street fighting....

Pakistans offensive against the Taliban entered a decisive phase on Monday with troops engaging militants in street-to-street fighting in urban areas of Swat for the first time,as they closed in on Mingora after entering two key towns in a pincer movement.

Troops had begun moving into cities and towns after militant hideouts,training camps and ammunition dumps in mountainous areas had been hit with artillery and air strikes,chief military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas said.

The Army had hit the Taliban very hard even in the previously inaccessible Peochar area,he said. Three top Taliban commanders were among 27 militants killed in clashes in the past 24 hours across Swat.

The ground offensive has now started in cities and town. Before that we were fighting in the countryside,in the mountain ranges and valleys and this was deliberately planned as such, Abbas said at a news briefing.

We are closing in towards Mingora. We have started street fighting,urban warfare in Matta. We will be reaching other towns whenever the force ratio allows, he said.

Three Taliban commanders Okasha,Malanga and Riaz were among the 27 militants killed in the past 24 hours of fighting. Three security personnel,including an officer,were also killed and 17 injured in fierce clashes in different areas of Swat.

Troops that entered Matta town on Sunday were conducting cordon and search operations while soldiers were also engaged in clearing and securing Kanju,another town in Swat that was a key Taliban stronghold.

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Abbas said troops were expanding their foothold in Peochar,where local Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah is believed to be hiding. Soldiers had secured a training centre that was also being used as a logistics base and 12 militants were killed in this operation. Another 15 militants were killed when troops razed Fazlullahs former headquarters in Imamdheri,Abbas said.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said over 1,000 militants have been killed so far in operations at Buner,Dir and Swat in the Malakand division. The military operations have displaced over 1.3 million people who fled their homes across Buner,Dir and Swat.