Pakistan army 'in Taliban city'

Barbara Plett, BBC News, Swat Clearly, the army has been bolstered by political support. "There is a national will," Maj Gen Ghani said. "The operations have been endorsed by parliament, the entire nation is behind this operation." And this time the army will stay to provide a security umbrella so that the police and civil administration have time to recover. Pakistan army vows Swat victoryierce fighting is taking place between Pakistani troops and Taliban militants in Mingora, the main city in the militant-controlled Swat valley. At least 17 militants have been killed in the clashes, the army says. The Taliban deny the deaths. The push into Mingora is seen as a key phase of an offensive aimed at crushing the militants, whose influence extends across a wide area of the north-west. The fighting began after a peace deal broke down earlier this month. See a map of the region "Street fights have begun," Maj Gen Athar Abbas told reporters. "It is a difficult operation because we have to make a house-to-house search. We have cleared some of the area in the city."