Islamabad - Five soldiers and "a number of" Taliban fighters, including an important commander, were killed during intense battles in Pakistan's north-western Swat valley, the Pakistani army said Thursday. According to a statement from Pakistan's army, the security forces have cleared a number of the insurgents in Peochar, a side valley in Swat where Taliban militants have established training camps and their command and control system.
"Fire battles are taking place between "miscreants-terrorists" and the troops - few miscreants-terrorists were killed," said the statement. Seven militants were also apprehended in the operation while three soldiers were injured.
In the Kanju and Takhtaband area of Swat fierce clashes left five soldiers dead and four others, including an officer, were injured. A number of "miscreants" also died in the action.
The military announced a full-scale operation in Swat on May 8 after a controversial peace agreement fell apart in the face of Taliban insurgency and militants' advance to within 100 kilometers of the capital city, Islamabad.
But deadly clashes erupted in neighbouring districts of Buner and Dir even earlier in late April.
Pakistan's government and security forces have pledged to continue the fight till the last militant is eliminated, and the move has been hailed by its Western allies, including the United States which heavily relies on Pakistan to win its war in Afghanistan.
But the conflict is resulting in the biggest displacement of people in country's 63 years of existence.
Nearly 1.5 million people had been displaced just by this month's intense fighting in the Taliban bastions of Swat, Buner and Dir. Another half a million were uprooted last year.
A donors' conference began in Pakistan on Thursday to drum up humanitarian aid for the anti-Taliban war refugees who continue to influx from the conflict zone.
"There is an urgent need for (a) joint and comprehensive response to this issue by all those who are committed to fighting terrorism," Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told the meeting in Islamabad.
Gilani said the all-out offensive had started to produce positive results but they came with "grave repercussions" in terms of massive dislocation of civilian population.
Prior to the Swat onslaught, the authorities were confident of managing the displacements, but this month's massive influx has led to "a manifold increase in the magnitude of the crisis," Gilani said.
International agencies have called upon the international community for urgent support to overcome the crisis.
United Nations refugee agency chief Antonio Guterres last week described the mass exodus as "one of the most dramatic humanitarian crises in recent times," warning that, if left languishing, this population could become "an enormous destabilizing factor."
Officials estimate that troops are taking on between 4,000 and 5,000 well-trained Taliban fighters in the north-west. According to the army, more than 1,100 militants and up to 60 soldiers had been killed so far.
There is broad political and public support for the military action, but that could vanish quickly in case of a high count of civilian deaths and if the displaced persons were not taken care of.
