Army troops have recaptured a key town in northwestern Pakistan that was over-run by pro-Taliban militants after a major offensive that has left at least 230 rebels dead.
A large number of militants led by radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah have fled the Swat valley and adjoining Shangla district in the North West Frontier Province. After more than two weeks of fierce clashes with the security forces, key militant leaders had also gone into hiding, the army said.
Security forces have secured Alpuri, the headquarters of Shangla district, and militants were fleeing from the area in a 'disorganised manner.' The district administration will start functioning from Thursday, the army said.
"The army has entered Alpuri town, which has been cleared of militants. The troops are in the process of securing adjoining heights," military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told Dawn News channel.
The army said 230 militants had been killed since the army took over the anti-insurgency operations in Swat and Shangla about two weeks ago. It did not give a figure for casualties among the security forces.
The recapture of Alpuri marks a major achievement for the security forces, which were embarrassed when the town was taken over by Fazlullah's men days after the imposition of emergency by President Pervez Musharraf. He had cited growing extremism as one of the key reasons for the measure.
Reports from Swat said the militants, fighting for the imposition of Shariat or Islamic law, vacated their positions on strategic mountaintops near the towns of Kuza Banda, Bara Banda, Imamdheri, Ningolai, Khwazakhela and Charbagh and fled after sustained attacks using artillery and gunship helicopters.
The army said Taliban commander Khan Khitab was killed by locals who were opposed to the presence of the militants in the area, which till recently was a popular destination for tourists. There were also reports that Muslim Khan, a close aide of Fazlullah, had been killed in the fighting.
Authorities imposed a food blockade in areas that were controlled by Fazlullah's men and clamped a curfew across Swat. Fazlullah's illegal radio station, from which he broadcast sermons advocating a jehad, was shut down after troops captured Najia Top, the highest peak in the region.
Arshad said: "In Swat, the militants have vacated almost all areas and they have (run away) to the mountains. The army is in control of the villages of Kuza Banda, Bara Banda, Imamdheri, Kanju and others.
"The locals of the area have come out and openly vowed to support the army. They have destroyed the houses of some persons involved in criminal activities."
The bodies of six militants, including one identified as a Uzbek national, were found on a mountain in Swat.
Suspected militant positions were 'extensively engaged with artillery fire and gunship helicopters' on Wednesday. "The continued successful operations of the security forces have destroyed the militants' strong locations and they are in the state of despair," the army said in a statement.
Curfew was relaxed on Wednesday in Mingora, the main town in Swat, from 8 am to 2 pm. The political administration in the area is being restored, the army said in a statement.
Fazlullah and his Shaheen Commando Force had been running a parallel administration in some 60 villages in Swat. The cleric had even appointed his own 'governors' and set up Shariat courts.