Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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May 24, 2009

Pakistan Battles Militants in Northwest 
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=246A8D1:A6F02AD83191E160339619CBD112EE2D2A201403E89ED254&
 
Military officials say several key points in Mingora are under their
control, including an intersection where militants routinely dumped the
mutilated bodies of their victims 
Pakistani troops continued their push into the Taliban-held main town in
Swat Valley on Sunday. Military officials say several key points in
Mingora are under their control, including an intersection where
militants routinely dumped the mutilated bodies of their victims. The
army says at least five suspected militants were killed in street
fighting and several others were arrested. Elsewhere in the northwest,
Pakistani aircraft bombed several suspected Taliban targets in the
Orakzai tribal region, killing at least 13 people. The Pakistani army
says more than 1,000 militants, and more than 63 soldiers, have been
killed since it began the offensive to retake the area. Pakistani troops
launched the operation in Swat Valley after militants violated a peace
deal and advanced within 100 kilometers of the capital. The United
Nations says the fighting in northwest Pakistan has caused the greatest
displacement of people the world has seen in two decades, with nearly
two million people!
  on the run. In other news, Pakistani police are searching for the
gunmen who kidnapped a French tourist in a region bordering Afghanistan
and Iran on Saturday. Police in the southwestern province of Baluchistan
say the man was taken from a group that included women and children and
that other tourists were not harmed. Police say militants including
ethnic Baluch separatists are active in the region. The French foreign
ministry issued a statement saying its crisis center and embassy have
been mobilized to resolve the situation.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters. 


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