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Pakistan gunships fire at militants in northwest
ATTENTION - UPDATES with clashes, CHANGES dateline ///
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Nov 12, 2007 (AFP) - Pakistani helicopter gunships pounded militant positions in a troubled northwestern valley on Monday for the first time since a state of emergency was declared, officials said.
Two militants were wounded when the choppers fired on rebel bunkers in the scenic Swat Valley, where followers of a pro-Taliban cleric are leading a campaign for Islamic Sharia law, a hospital and a rebel spokesman said.
Pakistan's army Monday officially took over operations against militants in Swat, a former tourist hotspot, after orders by President Pervez Musharraf to crack down.
It also followed calls by opposition leader Benazir Bhutto for a military offensive to tackle the extremists.
A police official speaking on condition of anonymity said the helicopters attacked militant positions in the hills above the town of Matta after gunshots were fired at the choppers.
It was the first major clash in Swat since Musharraf imposed emergency rule on November 3, citing rising Islamic militancy and judicial meddling.
He said on Sunday that emergency rule gave the government powers to place the army in charge of tackling the situation in Swat. Operations there were previously led by the paramilitary Frontier Corps.
"The army has assumed the lead role in Swat from today onward," chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told private Dawn television earlier Monday.
"We will take on the operations today in coordination with local and provincial level," Arshad said.
He did not say how long the army would remain in the area. "There is no timeframe but rest assured the militants and criminals will be brought to book."
Unrest erupted in Swat in July when fugitive rebel leader Maulana Fazlullah launched a campaign for the imposition of harsh Islamic Sharia law in the valley.
Fazlullah is nicknamed "Mullah Radio" because he runs a pirate FM radio station that calls for a holy war on government forces and the imposition of tough Islamic laws.
The government moved 2,500 troops into Swat earlier this month, and officially more than 150 militants have been killed in clashes with security forces in the past weeks.
But the militants made a major surge through Swat last week, capturing a string of towns and hoisting their flags above government buildings.- AFP
ATTENTION - UPDATES with clashes, CHANGES dateline ///
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Nov 12, 2007 (AFP) - Pakistani helicopter gunships pounded militant positions in a troubled northwestern valley on Monday for the first time since a state of emergency was declared, officials said.
Two militants were wounded when the choppers fired on rebel bunkers in the scenic Swat Valley, where followers of a pro-Taliban cleric are leading a campaign for Islamic Sharia law, a hospital and a rebel spokesman said.
Pakistan's army Monday officially took over operations against militants in Swat, a former tourist hotspot, after orders by President Pervez Musharraf to crack down.
It also followed calls by opposition leader Benazir Bhutto for a military offensive to tackle the extremists.
A police official speaking on condition of anonymity said the helicopters attacked militant positions in the hills above the town of Matta after gunshots were fired at the choppers.
It was the first major clash in Swat since Musharraf imposed emergency rule on November 3, citing rising Islamic militancy and judicial meddling.
He said on Sunday that emergency rule gave the government powers to place the army in charge of tackling the situation in Swat. Operations there were previously led by the paramilitary Frontier Corps.
"The army has assumed the lead role in Swat from today onward," chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told private Dawn television earlier Monday.
"We will take on the operations today in coordination with local and provincial level," Arshad said.
He did not say how long the army would remain in the area. "There is no timeframe but rest assured the militants and criminals will be brought to book."
Unrest erupted in Swat in July when fugitive rebel leader Maulana Fazlullah launched a campaign for the imposition of harsh Islamic Sharia law in the valley.
Fazlullah is nicknamed "Mullah Radio" because he runs a pirate FM radio station that calls for a holy war on government forces and the imposition of tough Islamic laws.
The government moved 2,500 troops into Swat earlier this month, and officially more than 150 militants have been killed in clashes with security forces in the past weeks.
But the militants made a major surge through Swat last week, capturing a string of towns and hoisting their flags above government buildings.- AFP
