Pakistan troops fighting in Mingora, Swat

Washington Post:

Pakistani troops pushed into the largest city in the contested Swat Valley on Saturday and fought block to block with Taliban militants in an apparent escalation of the army's effort to retake the picturesque area, which has become a symbol of insurgent defiance and government deficiency.

The army said the operation in Mingora marked the beginning of the most important phase of its nearly month-old campaign to win control of Swat and warned that the fighting would intensify. Previous clashes were centered in more rural parts of the valley, and Saturday's offensive could unleash a bloody urban street fight.

The battle for Swat, which is seen as a crucial test in Pakistan's war with radical Islamist insurgents, has forced about 2 million civilians to flee the area. The vast majority of Mingora's residents have left, and they may not be able to return to their homes for months or longer. The military estimates that as many as 20,000 residents remain trapped in the city and has said it will move carefully to avoid civilian casualties as well as the mines that Taliban fighters are thought to have laid to destroy advancing vehicles.

"The pace of the operation will be painfully slow. So be patient. But the operation has started, and, God willing, we are going to take it to a logical conclusion," said Maj. Gen Athar Abbas, a military spokesman.

...

It sounds like the Pakistan generals are becoming more realistic about defeating the Taliban. The good news for the Army is that the Taliban are standing and fighting to the death. More intelligent insurgents would be retreating to fight another day. The Taliban have also alienated much of the non combatants in the area which will make it harder for them to blend in if they try to infiltrate back into the area after the they are driven out. The key for Pakistan is keeping enough troops in the area to protect those who give them information about the Taliban.

The AP reports on a gruesome intersection where the Taliban left bodies they had dismembered or otherwise abused. There is no mention of war crimes or the Geneva Conventions in the discussion of the the Taliban intersection of death.

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