ISLAMABAD, May 23 Security forces entered Mingora, a key stronghold of the Taliban and the main city in Swat district, on Saturday and launched an offensive against militants after plugging escape routes and cutting off supply lines.

“Street fighting has begun in Mingora, which has been encircled from four sides and house-to-house search is under way to clear the city of miscreants,” military spokesman Maj-Gen Athar Abbas said at a press briefing. Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira also attended the briefing.

The ISPR chief said security forces had cleared a swathe from Circuit House to Makkan Pak, including the Continental Hotel. Troops had begun softening up Taliban positions in Nawan Kali with heavy bombardment ahead of an offensive to drive them out, he added.

The forces had also secured a bridge at Wanai that links Matta with Peochar valley, Maj-Gen Athar Abbas said.

Seventeen militants had been killed over the past 24 hours. Militant commander Khurshid alias Qasai was arrested in Mingora.

Another militant commander, Usman Butcher, was killed in clashes in Matta. A soldier was injured.Six militants were killed when security forces attacked caves at the Kamber bridge. A large haul of arms and ammunition were found in three caves.

The caves were being used by militants for dumping arms and ammunition and for logistic support.

The military spokesman said that terrorists were on the run in small groups. “The operation has shattered the myth of terrorists' might in Peochar valley and helped boost the confidence of local people in the armed forces.

“The locals have voluntarily surrendered their weapons they keep for personal protection to security forces and also assured the forces of their support,” Maj-Gen Abbas said.

In reply to a question about the threat of terrorists reaching camps in the guise of displaced persons, Maj-Gen Abbas said that a proposal to keep IDPs at one place was being considered. “We are working on it, but cannot give a deadline.”

He said that security forces were trying their best to avoid collateral damage. He said that an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 civilians (five to 10 per cent of the total population) were still trapped in Mingora. He said there were 4,000 to 5,000 militants in Swat and 1,095 of them had been killed. He, however, said new recruits and other criminal elements had dissociated themselves from the terrorists and there were 1,500 to 2,000 hardcore militants.

About the situation in Buner, he said that security forces had complete control over Sultanwas, adding that the people of Pir Baba were raising lashkar to flush militants out of their town.

He said that there were reports about the shortage of basic food items in Kalam, but there was no communication link with the area.

Information Minister Kaira denied that foreign troops were taking part in Operation Rah-i-Rast. “We neither need manpower of any country to help us in counter-insurgency operations, nor would we allow it,” he remarked.

He said that what the country sought from the outside world was technological cooperation to help enhance its capacity to fight terror. “The Pakistan Army is second to none as far as professional capability is concerned.”

He was asked to comment on the statement of a former US minister that US forces were taking part in the Swat operation.

He said there was a threat from the Taliban and Pakistan was their target. He said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had given a timeframe of six to eight weeks to wind up the operation. He, however, said that no deadline could be given for it.

Mr Kaira said that no proposal was under consideration to impose a ban on adoption of displaced children as was done after the 2005 earthquake.

He said that people had started returning to the areas where the situation was stabilising. He said that NADRA had set up 90 registration centres to gather and compile data of the affected people for the purpose of certification and avoidance of duplication, adding that it would help in providing cash and other assistance to the IDPs who were living in camps.

The minister admitted that there was a shortage of food in some areas because of the operation and curfew. He said that trucks loaded with food supplies had started reaching Kalam, Maidan and Bahrain areas.

He said that a 24-hour PTV helpline service linking camps, provincial government and the general public would become operational on Saturday evening. Similarly, he said, the Press Information Department had set up a separate cell to identify problems being faced by the IDPs.

The information ministry also set up a coordination cell in Peshawar.

He said the NWFP government had appointed officers and set up management teams for 20 camps in coordination with the Support Group and UNHCR.