Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Pakistan forces swoop for Taliban leader in Swat
Mon Sep 14, 2009 11:48am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Kamran Haider
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani security forces intensified a hunt on Monday for the Pakistani Taliban leader in the Swat valley, military officials said, and a U.S. drone killed four militants in a missile strike near the Afghan border.
Pakistani forces have made gains against the militants recently, months after Taliban advances and bomb attacks raised fears for nuclear-armed Pakistan's future and contributed to a slide in investor confidence.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Sunday that the top Taliban leader in the Swat valley, about 120 km (80 miles) northwest of Islamabad, was surrounded. The back of the Taliban insurgency, he said, had been broken.
The military's chief spokesman was more cautious, saying efforts were being made to capture the Swat Taliban chief, a self-styled cleric called Fazlullah, but media reports of his imminent capture were speculation.
Military officials in the former tourist valley said troops were searching in different places and clashes had erupted.
"Our teams are carrying out search operations, particularly for him in two or three areas. For sure, he can't flee from Swat," said a senior military official who declined to be identified, referring to Fazlullah.
"We'd like to capture him today," the official said, giving no indication when he might be caught. "We don't want to waste time with such operations, but you can't give a timeframe."
Security forces killed 16 militants, at least two of them senior Taliban members, in clashes during searches while one soldier was killed, the military said.
At the same time, 172 militants surrendered at two locations in the valley, a military spokesman said.
"The realization that the army is here and getting control is growing and now they're contacting us," said the spokesman, Major Mushtaq Khan. "They have no choice - either they get killed or surrender."
DRONE STRIKE
The army says it has killed more than 2,000 fighters in an offensive launched in the Swat valley in April. There has been no independent verification of that estimate.
The Pakistani Taliban under the overall command of Baitullah Mehsud was held responsible for a wave of attacks across the country from 2007, including the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in December that year.
Mehsud died in a missile attack last month by a U.S. drone aircraft in his South Waziristan stronghold on the Afghan border.
U.S. and Pakistani officials said Mehsud's death left the militants in disarray and riven by rivalry, but analysts say it is too early to say if their setbacks are a permanent blow or if they might regroup and strike back. [ID:nSP61388] Early on Monday, a U.S. drone fired a missile at a Taliban vehicle near the town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan, on the Afghan border. A Pakistani intelligence agent said the dead were apparently foreign, but no leaders were believed among them. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Venezuela buys powerful missiles with Russian loan
A year since Lehman: times of crisis
Richard Fuld talks
The former CEO of Lehman Brothers is bracing for the anniversary of the firm's failure. In an exclusive interview, Fuld tells Reuters: "You don't have a gun, that's good." Full Article | Full Coverage
Patience needed in post-Lehman deals
Multimedia: Times of Crisis
More International News
Bin Laden warns U.S. on Israel ties
| Video
Britons jailed for 9/11-scale airline bomb plot
Iran's talks with world powers to start next month
Netanyahu says won't freeze building in settlements
Iraqi court orders the release of Bush shoe thrower
| Video
More International News...
Related News
Q+A: Has the back of the Pakistani Taliban been broken?
5:24am EDT
Featured Broker sponsored link
Editor's Choice
A look at the world in the year since the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Full Coverage
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Kanye West outburst mars MTV music video awards
Police: body found in lab is missing Yale student
Bin Laden warns U.S. on Israel ties | Video
UPDATE 3-Obama warns against scare tactics over healthcare
U.S. tire duties fuel trade tension with China | Video
Obama aims to reinvigorate Wall Street reform | Video
Jay Leno show: rescue or ruin of U.S. network TV?
Israeli war film "Lebanon" wins top prize in Venice
Serena earns a place in the tennis hall of shame
To the victors, the spoils: a post-Lehman scorecard
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Mortars hit Mogadishu hospital
Japan's next PM
Caution: Man eating spiders
HK elevator accident kills 6
Press freedom protest in Hong Kong
African runner-up Mr Switzerland
Deadly fire at Kazakh drug clinic
Inca mummies donated to Peru
American, Delta eye Japan Airlines
Clashes after Hamburg street party
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.