Swat militants take to the woods

Swat militants take to the woods
Vacate all seized govt buildings; troops enter Alpuri; FM stations shut down; Fazlullah �hurt�

By Mushtaq Yusufzai

PESHAWAR/MINGORA: After suffering colossal losses, the militants in restive Swat vacated all the seized police stations and other government buildings on Tuesday and decided to go underground while the government closed down all the FM radio channels in the district, including the one run by Maulana Fazlullah.

Also, in the adjoining Shangla district, the security forces retook the main town Alpuri from the militants and forced them to retreat to the nearby mountains. Militants led by rebel cleric Maulana Fazlullah, who earlier Tuesday morning were in control of majority of the areas in the valley, disappeared and abandoned their roadside checkpoints.

Local military officials in Mingora said four militants were killed in clashes with the security force on Tuesday. Maj Amjad Iqbal, an ISPR spokesman in Mingora, told The News that 50 bodies of the militants, killed in fighting so far with the security forces, had been collected from various places. He confirmed the death of senior militant commander, Khan Khitab, near Guli Bagh.

He, however, said Khitab was killed by local villagers when he and his colleagues tried to escape and hide in a village. There were also reports that another prominent commander of the militants Muslim Khan, who was a close aide of Fazlullah, was killed in fighting with the security forces.

Officials said another commander from South Waziristan, Arshad Mujahid, was also killed alongside Muslim Khan and their bodies were still lying near Najia Top, an area between Ningwalai and Bandai in Kabal subdivision.

Some reports suggested that Maulana Fazlullah, who was also on the run with Muslim Khan, was seriously injured in an attack on them by security forces. Maj Amjad Iqbal said he had also received similar reports but could not confirm them.

Sources told The News that Maulana Fazlullah through his widely-listened FM radio channel directed his armed followers at around 11:45 pm Tuesday night to stop fighting and shift to safer places and wait for his other important message regarding the future line of action.

After Fazlullah�s message, militants were seen abandoning their roadside check-posts near the Saidu Sharif airport and other areas under their control in Kabal and Matta subdivisions, where the armed militants used to search vehicles.

Officials in Mingora said the militants had vacated all the major towns, which they used as their strongholds like Mam Dherai, Bara Bandai, Kuza Bandai, Ningwalai, Dherai, Charbagh, Guli Bagh, Matta, Khwazakhela and even Madyan.

The local residents, however, said the security forces did not enter these areas but no firing had been seen during the daytime. Some reports said the militants were still manning the roadside check-posts and patrolling the streets in the Charbagh subdivision. There were also reports that Fazlullah and his close aides went towards Pewchar area in Matta subdivision.

Pewchar, it may be recalled, was considered the safest hideout of the militants of banned Jihadi outfits as well as foreign fighters. Local people said the militants could easily cross into the neighbouring Dir district from Pewchar and then to the Bajaur tribal agency if the security forces chased them.

Before their escape from Matta, the people said the militants set on fire the local police station and an office of DSP and destroyed official record there. Officials said all the FM radio channels, including the controversial one launched by Maulana Fazlullah in Swat, had been closed down.

As many as 36 FM radio stations were recently operational in Swat of which three were airing music programmes while the majority was used by self-styled clerics for propagating their own versions of Islam.

However, residents said a few radio channels were purely transmitting the translation of the holy Quran. Military officials, on the other hand, said the security forces had entered Alpuri, the district headquarters of Shangla district, following the weeklong heavy clashes with the militants after Maulana Fazlullah�s followers escaped to the nearby mountains.

Similarly, the authorities announced relaxation in curfew from 8 am till 2 pm for today (Wednesday). The curfew, which was clamped on the main Malakand Road right from Mardan up to Swat, has badly affected the daily life in the entire Malakand region.

The residents of Dir Upper and Lower, Chitral, Bajaur Agency, Swat district and Malakand Agency were unable to move to downtowns of the Frontier province. Elderly people, women and children were the worst hit. It was hard for the people to shift their patients to Peshawar for treatment due to which numerous people expired. Above all, the intending pilgrims missed their flights due to the prolonged curfew on the long route.
SOURCE:

Sounds like they leave when army is around, then come back when they leave.
This isn't a solution. Note they don't even cll them terrorist...

G