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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Swat Valley

Swat Valley stories: 37 news summaries

1 - 20 of 37 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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Pakistan Army Likely Behind Widespread Swat Killings

Military says deaths due to locals settling scores

Sep 15, 09 9:14 AM CDT
(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... More »

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Taliban • Pakistan • revenge • Pakistan army • Swat Valley

 Taliban Surrenders in Swat 

Maulana Fazlullah either surrounded or arrested as Pakistani offensive continues

Sep 13, 09 12:26 PM CDT
(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... More »

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Taliban • Pakistan • insurgents • Maulana Fazlullah • Pakistan military • Pakistan army • Swat Valley

(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... More »

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Afghanistan • Taliban • Pakistan • Pakistan army • Swat Valley • Muslim Khan

ANALYSIS

Forget Pakistan's Claims: Taliban Is Only Hiding Out

Military's paltry victory gives fighters opening to reclaim stronghold

Jun 27, 09 3:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - Pakistan is crowing over its victories against militants in the Swat Valley, but the Taliban has simply retreated to fight another day, Jane Perlez and Pir Zubair Shah write in the New York Times. Pakistan, which only controls roads and urban centers, hasn't even killed one Taliban leader. "Most... More »

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Taliban • Pakistan • insurgents • refugee • Pakistan military • Swat Valley

(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... More »

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Taliban • Pakistan • suicide bombing • Muslim • mosque • cleric • Lahore • Pakistan army • Swat Valley • madrasa • Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi

(Newser) - A bombing at a mosque in northwest Pakistan killed about 40 people today, Reuters reports. The attack, which occurred near the troubled Swat Valley, took place as Pakistani leaders urged visiting US envoy Richard Holbrooke to ramp up US aid, notes the AP. Such attacks won't "deter the government... More »

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Afghanistan • Pakistan • bombing • mosque • terrorist attack • Swat Valley • Richard Holbrooke

Pakistanis Finally Turning Against the Taliban

Swat Valley battles push citizens away from Islamic extremism

Jun 5, 09 6:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - Only a year ago the Taliban had growing support in Pakistan, and many citizens regarded them as fellow Muslims opposed to the American government and military. But as the New York Times reports, public sentiment has shifted in recent months. Following violence in the Swat Valley and months of televised... More »

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Taliban • Pakistan • Islamic Sharia law • Islamic extremism • Swat • Swat Valley • insurgency

(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... More »

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Taliban • Pakistan • Pakistan militants • Pakistan army • Swat Valley

(Newser) - Pakistan's military has regained control of the main town in the Swat Valley, raising hopes that at least some of the 2 million refugees from the region may be able to return home, reports Reuters. Battles on the outskirts remain, but the military said today it has ousted the Taliban... More »

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Afghanistan • Taliban • Pakistan • Swat Valley

(Newser) - Pakistan says it has claimed a crucial part of the Swat Valley’s largest city from the Taliban, the New York Times reports. Ten Taliban fighters and six Pakistani soldiers died fighting over Mingora’s Green Square, known as “Slaughter Square” for its reputation as a beheaded-body dumping ground... More »

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Taliban • Pakistan • civilian casualties • Pakistan army • Mingora • Swat Valley

 Pakistani Town 
 Beats Back Taliban 

Locals raid militant invaders as army gains in Swat

May 22, 09 7:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Armed residents of a town in the troubled Swat Valley fought off Taliban forces yesterday,  the latest sign that locals are helping the Pakistan army beat back militants, reports the Wall Street Journal. Several Taliban fighters were captured when hundreds of residents stormed out of the mountain town of ... More »

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Taliban • Pakistan • humanitarian crisis • Swat • Pakistan army • Swat Valley

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton is hoping text messages can save Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The Secretary of State is asking Americans to text “swat” to 20222 to make a $5 donation to help refugees from the fighting there, Foreign Policy reports. The money would go to a UN agency, which provides... More »

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Hillary Clinton • United Nations • Pakistan • donation • text message • refugee • Swat Valley • humanitarian aid

(AP) - Hillary Clinton will detail plans for US humanitarian aid to Pakistan later today, as part of the administration's new strategy for countering the appeal of Taliban militants in the nuclear-armed country. An administration official said the aid package would amount to about $100 million to help Pakistani refugees who have... More »

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Hillary Clinton • Pakistan • Swat Valley • humanitarian aid • Obama administration

Taliban Shave Beards to Elude Pakistani Troops

Fighters get desperate as army routs militants in Swat stronghold

May 15, 09 3:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Frantic Taliban fighters are shaving their notoriously full beards and hair as they flee the Swat valley to escape Pakistan’s military, which says it’s making inroads against the militants, Reuters reports. The military is asking civilians to expose Taliban fighters, but nearly 1 million residents have already escaped.... More »

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Taliban • Pakistan • humanitarian crisis • militant • Swat Valley • beards

 Thousands Flee Pakistan War Zone as Curfew Lifted

UN warns that refugee crisis could destabilize Pakistan

May 15, 09 1:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - Pakistan has temporarily lifted a curfew on the war-torn Swat Valley to let civilians flee the fighting, the BBC reports. Some 150,000 people are believed to be trapped in the city of Mingora, where Taliban militants have dug trenches and mined roads. The Pakistan military has vowed to clear... More »

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Taliban • refugee • Pakistan army • Mingora • Swat Valley

 Ground Troops Reach 
 Taliban HQ: Pakistan  

Refugee crisis mounts as fighting ramps up

May 12, 09 1:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Pakistani soldiers descended on a Taliban stronghold in Swat Valley today to “search and destroy,” a military spokesman tells Reuters. Ground troops were also moving toward the remote northwest region as the military ramps up its offensive against insurgents there. Officials say 751 of the vastly outnumbered militants... More »

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United Nations • Taliban • Pakistan • refugee • Pakistan military • Swat Valley • military offensive

(Newser) - Pakistani forces told more residents of Swat Valley to flee during a 9-hour lull in fighting today, sparking an even greater migration that is snarling roads and deepening a humanitarian crisis, the Guardian reports. A quarter million refugees have now registered for help, bringing the homeless tally to 1.3... More »

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Taliban • Pakistan • refugee camp • Pakistan army • Swat Valley

(Newser) - Public opinion is swinging against Sharia law in Pakistan's Swat Valley as tens of thousands flee fighting between Pakistani forces and the Taliban, the Washington Post reports. A public fed up with inefficient and corrupt secular courts once welcomed the Taliban's version of religious law, but lawmakers and pundits now... More »

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Islam • Taliban • Pakistan • courts • Islamic Sharia law • Swat Valley

 Pakistani Civilians Stuck 
 as 55 Militants Die in War 

Curfew curbs residents' flight in 'war of country's survival'

May 9, 09 5:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Pakistani troops and warplanes killed at least 55 Taliban militants today in what Prime Minister Raza Gilani is calling a "war of the country's survival," the AP reports. Fighting centered in the northwestern Swat Valley, where a curfew prevented residents from fleeing and the main town has... More »

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United Nations • Taliban • Pakistan • humanitarian crisis • civilians • Swat Valley

 As Pakistan 
 Shells Taliban, 
 500K Flee Swat 

Military bombards densely populated areas; UN warns of crisis

May 7, 09 6:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - Refugees continue to flee the Swat Valley in Pakistan, reports the Guardian, where government forces battling resurgent Taliban militants have been conducting airstrikes in heavily populated areas. The government is preparing for up to 500,000 refugees in what the UN warns is becoming a humanitarian crisis. The Washington Post... More »

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Taliban • Pakistan • refugee camp • refugee • airstrike • Pakistan military • Swat Valley

1 - 20 of 37 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


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