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Pakistan Sends Troops to Halt Taliban Advance

Militants attack forces sent to retake district overrun by Taliban

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 24, 2009 2:01 AM CDT

(Newser) – Pakistan has rushed hundreds of troops to an area overrun by Taliban militants, AFP reports. The extremists have seized control of Buner district—just 60 miles west of the capital—and witnesses say they are patrolling the streets, barring women from public places, and warning residents not to engage in "un-Islamic activities."

"Local police are helpless and seem to have lost control," a resident said. "Taliban are moving freely everywhere in the town." The troops—whose convoy has come under fire from militants—were dispatched amid warnings that the Taliban is moving even closer to the capital and is well-placed to seize vital roads and dams.

[Images (4)]

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A street is deserted at the Sawari's market, near Daggar in Buner, Pakistan, yesterday. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

A Taliban militant holds his weapon outside the mosque where tribal elders and the Taliban met in Daggar, Buner's main town, Pakistan, yesterday. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

Taliban militants hold their weapons outside the mosque where tribal elders and the Taliban met in Daggar, Buner's main town, Pakistan, yesterday. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

A Taliban militant holds his weapon in the mosque where tribal elders and the Taliban met in Daggar, Buner's main town, Pakistan, yesterday. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

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Between Buner and Islamabad, there is only one city. The way they are spreading, fast and furious, this should be a point of concern to everybody.
- Haider Rizvi, a Pakistani lawmaker

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Pakistan Sends Troops to Halt Taliban Advance