Pakistan: Up to 700 militants killed in offensive

[May 11, 2009]  MARDAN, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistani warplanes bombed suspected militant positions in a stronghold close to the capital Monday, pressing ahead with a fierce offensive the government claimed had killed 700 insurgents and put the Taliban on the run.

The United Nations said 360,600 refugees had fled Swat and neighboring Dir and Buner districts since operations began last week. That number is on top of some 500,000 people displaced by past offensives -- a major humanitarian challenge for the weak government that could test public support for the offensive.

In one camp in the town of Mardan, just south of the battle zone, hundreds of displaced people waited for hours to register with the U.N, something they must do before getting tents, food and medical treatment.

"In this camp, I am not seeing anything that will give us much relief," said a new arrival, Iftikiar Khan, fearing the facilities there were insufficient. Like most of those fleeing, Khan said he ultimately hoped to stay with relatives.

Islamabad's tough military response has earned praise from the U.S., which wants al-Qaida and Taliban militants rooted out from havens where they can plan attacks on American and NATO forces in Afghanistan as well as destabilize nuclear-armed Pakistan.

The military launched the offensive after the insurgents in Swat used a peace deal to impose their reign in other neighboring areas, including a stretch just 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the capital, Islamabad.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said 700 militants had been killed around Swat in the last four days

Addressing parliament, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the army had cleared the region's main town, Mingora, of mines planted by the insurgents.

"The operation will continue until the last Talib," Malik said in the capital, Islamabad. "We haven't given them a chance. They are on the run. They were not expecting such an offensive."

Malik's casualty number -- which exceeds those given by the military on Sunday by at least 200 -- and his claims of success could not be independently verified. The military is restricting access to the battlefields and many local journalists have also left. The government has not given figures for civilian casualties, but accounts from refugees suggest they are significant.

Jawad Khan, a university student who lives in the Kabal area of Swat, said jets bombed the nearby Dhada Hara village Monday morning.

"I saw smoke and dust rising from the village," Khan said, adding he didn't know about casualties because of curfew restrictions, which have been enforced again after being briefly lifted Sunday to allow more civilians to flee.

A police official in Mingora said jets bombed the Matta area of Swat on Monday as well.

The official said he was confined to his station but could see a decapitated body lying outside along a road where a clash between military forces and the Taliban on Sunday left six militants dead. He requested anonymity because of security reasons.

Swat lies near the Afghan border as well as the wild Pakistani tribal areas, where al-Qaida and the Taliban have strongholds and where U.S. officials believe al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden may be hiding. The army says 12,000 to 15,000 troops in Swat face 4,000 to 5,000 militants, including small numbers of foreigners and hardened fighters from the South Waziristan tribal region.

Many in the northwest have little faith in the government's ability to help them, a challenge to Pakistan's leaders because disillusioned refugees could prove fertile recruiting ground for the Taliban. Malik said the government was providing sufficient funds to help the displaced Pakistanis and was checking for militants who may be hiding among new arrivals at camps.

Elsewhere in Pakistan's northwest Monday, a suicide bomber blew up his vehicle at a checkpoint, killing six civilians and two members of the Frontier Constabulary security force, police said. The bombing occurred between the main northwest city of Peshawar and the town of Darra Adam Khel, police official Arif Khan said.

[Associated Press; By RIAZ KHAN]

Associated Press writer Zarar Khan in Islamabad contributed to this report.

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