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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Pakistan army 'regains' Swat city | Pakistan army 'regains' Swat city |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The Pakistan military says it has regained control of the largest town in the Swat valley from the Taliban. | The Pakistan military says it has regained control of the largest town in the Swat valley from the Taliban. |
| Army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas told the BBC that the centre of Mingora was under military control, although there were still skirmishes on the outskirts. | Army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas told the BBC that the centre of Mingora was under military control, although there were still skirmishes on the outskirts. |
| Fighting intensified a week ago as the army strengthened its presence in the town, conducting house-to-house searches for Taliban militants. | Fighting intensified a week ago as the army strengthened its presence in the town, conducting house-to-house searches for Taliban militants. |
| Journalists are banned from the area so it is hard to verify the army's claims. | Journalists are banned from the area so it is hard to verify the army's claims. |
| Hundreds of people have been killed and more than two million have fled the Swat valley since the operation against the Taliban was launched after a peace deal broke down earlier this month. | Hundreds of people have been killed and more than two million have fled the Swat valley since the operation against the Taliban was launched after a peace deal broke down earlier this month. |
| See a map of the region The army's latest declaration comes days after a lethal bombing in Lahore, which was later claimed by Taliban as revenge for the Swat operations. | See a map of the region The army's latest declaration comes days after a lethal bombing in Lahore, which was later claimed by Taliban as revenge for the Swat operations. |
| Although the military has always had bases in Mingora, the city has in effect been under Taliban control in recent weeks. | Although the military has always had bases in Mingora, the city has in effect been under Taliban control in recent weeks. |
| The army said seven days ago that it had re-taken key intersections, and expected a further seven to 10 days of fighting. | The army said seven days ago that it had re-taken key intersections, and expected a further seven to 10 days of fighting. |
| Fighting has been fierce, with troops having to check houses for booby-traps as they move through the streets of the city, once home to more than 300,000 people. | Fighting has been fierce, with troops having to check houses for booby-traps as they move through the streets of the city, once home to more than 300,000 people. |
| 'More fight' | |
| Maj Gen Abbas emphasised that it was only Mingora he was talking about on Saturday. | Maj Gen Abbas emphasised that it was only Mingora he was talking about on Saturday. |
| "Much more fight in Swat is left," he told AFP news agency. | "Much more fight in Swat is left," he told AFP news agency. |
| As the army aims to clear Taliban strongholds and supply depots in Swat's mountains, soldiers are battling militants in towns where many thousands of civilians are believed to be hiding. | As the army aims to clear Taliban strongholds and supply depots in Swat's mountains, soldiers are battling militants in towns where many thousands of civilians are believed to be hiding. |
| The government has also advised residents to leave the town of Charbagh, a Taliban stronghold 20 miles (32km) north of Swat, in advance of an attempt by the military to move in there, AFP reported, quoting unnamed military sources. | |
| Following the attack in Lahore, and in Peshawar a day later, Pakistan increased its reward for a Taliban chief to 50m rupees ($600,000, £372,000). | Following the attack in Lahore, and in Peshawar a day later, Pakistan increased its reward for a Taliban chief to 50m rupees ($600,000, £372,000). |
| The figure is more than 10 times the original bounty for radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah - believed to be the architect of a two-year uprising in the Swat valley intended to enforce Sharia law. | The figure is more than 10 times the original bounty for radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah - believed to be the architect of a two-year uprising in the Swat valley intended to enforce Sharia law. |
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