28 more extremists gunned down by Pak army in Swat

September 15th, 2009 SWAT - Three extremists were killed and 22 others arrested as security forces continued their operation to flush out militants from Swat and Malakand. According to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces conducted search operation at Mangaltan and killed three terrorists.

September 4th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Friday said that the army has broken the back of terrorists and the war will continue until the complete elimination of extremists from the country. When COAS Kayani arrived in Swat's scenic place Kalam, Pakistani soldiers accorded him warm welcome.

September 4th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - The Pakistan Army is determined chase the Taliban till the very end, and would continue its offensive against the extremists until they are rooted out from the country, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani has said. Speaking at a function after inaugurating a rehabilitation centre for young Taliban recruits, General Kayani said 'Operation Rah-e-Rast', being carried out in the Swat and the Malakand Divisions, has broken the back of extremists.

August 31st, 2009 Pakistan army: 30 Taliban killed in Swat battlesISLAMABAD — Pakistani soldiers killed at least 30 Taliban militants in gunbattles across the volatile northwestern Swat Valley after a suicide bombing on a police station killed 17 cadets, the military said Monday. Soldiers looking for militants after the bombing encountered resistance in several areas and battles raged overnight into early morning Monday, army spokesman Col.

July 9th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Army has claimed that Mullah Fazlullah, the chief of the Taliban's Swat chapter, has been grievously wounded in an attack by security forces. Addressing a joint press conference with Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Athar Abbas said the Army has obtained information through reliable sources that Fazlullah has been injured.

July 4th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Army has named Maj. Gen. Ashfaq Nadeem to command the Swat operation against the Taliban, a media report said Saturday.

June 30th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - At least 45 Taliban insurgents were killed in separate incidents in South Waziristan, as the Pakistan Air Force fighter jets continued to pound militant hideouts in the region. Several extremists were also reportedly killed in clashes with the tribal militias in Swat and Kurram region.

June 15th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has said that the military operation against the Taliban and other extremists in the Malakand and Swat region was launched to bring those people back on track who had deviated from their path due to certain circumstances. General Kayani said the operation has aptly been named 'Rah-e-Rast' which means the 'right track'.

June 4th, 2009 MINGORA - The military offensive in Pakistan's Swat Valley may be nearing its end, with the Army claiming that it has forced the Taliban and other extremists to leave the region, besides sanitizing scores of militants. However, after the troops pull out from the different regions of the region, the biggest task of the local administration would be to prevent the extremists from resurfacing, and starting their reign of terror once again.

June 3rd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Army would need to stay in the Swat Valley for at least a year after its operation against the Taliban in the region is accomplished, in order to prevent the extremists from resurfacing again, a senior Army official has said. Major General Ijaz Awan, who is commanding the military's Swat offensive, said the army would have to stay in the valley for at least another year so that peace and security could be re-established.

June 1st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that the Taliban and other extremist groups are now planning to expand their writ into the province, as the security forces have successfully flushed them out from important locations in the Swat Valley. "There is no doubt that one of their aims is to penetrate into Punjab as well as to stop operation in Swat," The Nation quoted Sharif, as saying.

May 27th, 2009 PESHAWAR - The Pakistan Army has claimed that its offensive against the Taliban and other extremists in the Swat Valley is ahead of schedule as troops have forced the extremists back and have confined them to a very small area. "Operation Rah-e-Rast is ahead of schedule and is forcing the Taliban to give up mentally and psychologically," Peshawar Corps Commander Lieutenant General Masood Aslam said.

May 18th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan has said the government will have to give an answer as to what prompted it to initiate a military operation in the Swat Valley when it could have tried restoring peace in the region through dialogue. Talking to media persons here, the cricketer-turned-politician said his party would quiz the government during the all-party conference as to why it considered the Swat operation inevitable.

May 14th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Army on Thursday claimed gunning down at least 60 more Taliban operatives in the Lower Dir region of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). According to the media center situated in Dir, the army, acting on a tip-off, pounded the residence of UC Nazim Lower Dir and killed at least 60 extremists.

May 10th, 2009 TORONTO - The Pakistan army had vowed to quell the insurgency completely. Questions are being raised about whether the Pakistan Army is up to the task of defeating the Taliban in the Swat Valley, after it announced all out war against insurgents.