Refugee Tally Hits 1.3M as Pakistan Plans Ground Strike

Military says deaths due to locals settling scores

(NEWSER) - Pakistan’s army took over the Swat Valley two months ago, ending Taliban control of the region—but lately, violence has swept the streets, with hundreds of bodies reportedly strewn about, the New York Times reports. The military says it’s a matter of revenge killings between locals, but human rights groups and locals say the army has a hand in what appears to be widespread, systematic violence. More»

Maulana Fazlullah either surrounded or arrested as Pakistani offensive continues

(NEWSER) - A Taliban-controlled pirate radio station announced the militant group's surrender in the Swat Valley, after yet another key leader was said to have been arrested by the Pakistani military, the Telegraph reports. Though some reports claim that Maulana Fazlullah is surrounded by Pakistani forces, sources tell the Telegraph that he has already been arrested—but that an official announcement will not be made until early next week. More»

(AP) - Pakistani soldiers arrested the spokesman for the Taliban in the Swat Valley and four other commanders, striking the first direct blow against the leadership of the insurgency in the one-time tourist resort. The capture of spokesman Muslim Khan and the others could be a big blow to the Taliban's hopes of staging a comeback in the region, which borders Afghanistan. More»

(NEWSER) - One of Pakistan’s most prominent anti-Taliban clerics was killed today in a suicide bomb attack, the Times of London reports. Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi, who supported the Pakistan army’s campaign in the Swat Valley, died on the way to the hospital after an explosion at his Islamic college in Lahore. “There was blood and several people were crying in pain,” Naeemi’s son said. More»

(NEWSER) - Pakistan’s defense secretary says the army will crush Taliban militants in the Swat Valley within days, the BBC reports. Just "5% to 10% of the job" is left, Syed Athar Ali told an Asian forum, though an army spokesman declined to give an actual timeline. Meanwhile, 40 rebels and four soldiers were killed in fighting near the Afghan border. More»