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BANAI BABA ZIARAT, Pakistan – A Pakistani flag now flies over army troops dug in on a strategic ridge that until two days ago was held by the Taliban, a base where militants trained fighters, built tunnels and equipped caves with electricity and air vents. The takeover of the highest Taliban stronghold in the Swat Valley by troops who stormed up its jagged, rubble-strewn slopes is evidence of the success of Pakistan's month-old army offensive. The action has been welcomed by the United States, which fears the nuclear-armed country is capitulating to the militants. ... Several residents pointed to the...

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) – Attack helicopters and war planes pounded suspected Taliban hideouts on Thursday as Pakistan vowed a decisive victory in the deadliest fighting to grip a northwest district in months. Thousands of civilians streamed out of the Taliban stronghold and former tourist paradise of Swat on foot or crammed into cars, as aid workers warned that the humanitarian crisis was escalating in the area. ... The military said nine soldiers died in the last 24 hours in Swat, including seven killed when militants ambushed troop reinforcements at the entry to Mingora, the main town in the northwest district...

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani jets and attack helicopters bombed Taliban positions in a district near the capital Tuesday, the military said, in an expansion of an offensive against militants seemingly emboldened by a much-criticized peace deal. Troops and heavy artillery also joined the operation in Buner, which follows urgent calls from the United States for Islamabad to step up its fight against the militants, who moved into the region this month from the nearby Swat Valley. They set up checkpoints, patrolled streets and warned locals to abide by strict interpretations of Islam. The offensive will cause major strains on an already...

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan launched an operation against militants Sunday in a district covered by a government-backed peace deal, threatening the survival of a pact that raised U.S. concerns about the country's willingness to confront the insurgents. A top government official insisted the deal remained "intact" and denied American pressure prompted the offensive, while another warned that the Taliban in a valley that was the focus of the deal must disarm or "face action." A military statement said the offensive in Lower Dir had already killed "scores" of militants, including a commander, and left at least one paramilitary soldier dead. It...

TALIBAN militants in northwest Buner district shaved the heads and moustaches of four Pakistani men as punishment for listening to music, one of the men said. Buner has been subject to huge US concern after hundreds of Taliban fighters advanced into the area from the neighbouring Swat, where the hardliners fought a brutal, nearly two-year insurgency to enforce Islamic law. "I was with three other friends in my car, listening to music when armed Taliban stopped us and, after smashing cassettes and the cassette player, they shaved half our heads and moustaches,'' he said. "The Taliban also beat us and...

BUNER, Pakistan (Reuters) – Taliban fighters remained in a Pakistani valley near the capital on Saturday, but many had pulled out after quitting their main base, officials said. "They have gone, but left their germs here," Abdul Rasheed Khan, the district's top police officer, told Reuters. "Now we have about 200 local Taliban who can be seen on roadsides." The Taliban's entry into the northwest district of Buner, some 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Islamabad, alarmed Washington during the past week, as fears mounted over the nuclear-armed Muslim state's stability. On Friday, guerrilla commander Fazlullah, ordered his men to...

Eight Frontier Constabulary platoons rushed to Buner on Thursday to protect vital state installations in the northwestern town now virtually under Taliban control, while the Taliban entered the adjacent Shangla district in another brazen move. Local residents and police in Poran tehsil of Shangla said around 30 armed Taliban arrived in the town on Thursday morning. “They entered the tehsil in cars and are still in the area,” a police official said. Governing Buner: The march on Shangla came after the district administration recognised Taliban’s control over Buner district by holding a jirga with a local commander to lay down...

BUNER: Taliban militants from Swat took control of Buner on Tuesday and started patrolling bazaars, villages and towns in the district. The militants, who had sneaked into Gokand valley of Buner on April 4, were reported to have been on a looting spree for the past five days. They have robbed government and NGO offices of vehicles, computers, printers, generators, edible oil containers, and food and nutrition packets. Sources said that leading political figures, businessmen, NGO officials and Khawaneen, who had played a role in setting up a Lashkar to stop the Taliban from entering Buner, had been forced to...

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) – Taliban militants in Pakistan's Swat valley have moved into another district in a bid to broaden their control despite a deal designed to end extremist violence, officials said Wednesday. Hundreds of armed Taliban from the scenic northwestern valley have entered Buner district, only 110 kilometres (68 miles) from the capital Islamabad. The militants have set up checkpoints, occupied mosques and ransacked the offices of non-governmental organisations, a local official said. A Taliban commander said they would set up strict Islamic sharia courts in Buner as they have already done in Swat but would not interfere with...

Taleban militants operating in Pakistan's Swat region who agreed a peace deal with the government have expanded operations into nearby Buner. Dozens of militants have been streaming into bordering Buner to take over mosques and government offices. Buner is part of the Malakand region, which has just seen the implementation of Sharia law under the peace deal. But the Taleban have mainly operated in Swat, where they fought the army from August 2007 until this year's deal. Under the deal the Taleban were expected to disarm. Buner district is only about 100km (62 miles) from the capital, Islamabad. Mian Iftikhar...

Having forcibly taken over Buner district adjoining Swat Valley, Taliban militants have begun using mosques in the area as "recruitment centres" to attract youths to join their ranks. Almost all mosques in villages in Buner district are being used by the Taliban to recruit local residents for their cause of enforcing Sharia or Islamic law in the Malakand division, which includes Swat, and the rest of the country, media reports said on Monday. The entry of Taliban into Buner, which is just about 100 km from the federal capital, has raised alarm throughout Pakistan as to the intentions of the...