Fighter jets target Taliban in Pakistan’s Swat Valley
Pakistani jets screamed over this Taliban-controlled town Friday and bombed suspected militant positions as hundreds of thousands fled and trapped residents appealed for a pause in the fighting so they could escape.
Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said 140 militants had been killed in the last 24 hours, in addition to about 150 already reported slain. He didn’t provide figures for civilian deaths, but witnesses and local news reports say that some have been killed.
About half a million people have already left the Swat Valley and nearby districts or want to leave but can’t because of the fighting across Pakistan’s volatile northwest region, Pakistani officials and the United Nations say, bringing the number of people likely to be displaced by the offensive against the Taliban to 1 million.
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