- Army appeals for public to back offensive on Afghan border
- Swat resident says Taliban take to the hills
By Kamran Haider
ISLAMABAD, July 1 (Reuters) - Pakistani troops cleared on Wednesday the last Taliban stronghold in the Swat Valley, the army said, and appealed for public support to defeat militants in an Afghan border region.
The military went on the offensive in Swat two months ago after the Taliban seized a district just 100 km (60 miles) from Islamabad, raising alarm at home and among Western allies who need Pakistan's help to fight al Qaeda and to tackle Afghanistan's insurgency.
Nearing the end of its offensive in Swat, the military is set to launch a separate assault on Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in the South Waziristan region on the Afghan border.
On Wednesday, soldiers captured the town of Shah Dheri, the militants' last stronghold in the former tourist valley of Swat, a military spokesman said.
Five soldiers were wounded in a clash as troops consolidated their positions and searched the area, said the spokesman.
A resident of the area, Abdul Ghaffar, welcomed the troops and said the Taliban had fled into the mountains.
"Now you can see troops everywhere, on the streets, in the villages and on rooftops while the militants are hiding in the peaks," Ghaffar said by telephone.
But no Taliban leaders have been among the approximately 1,600 militants the army has reported killed in Swat. Independent casualty estimates are not available.
A Swat Taliban spokesman said this week his leaders were alive and determined to fight on.
The army's campaign has won the praise of close ally the United States which is sending many thousands of troop reinforcements to Afghanistan.
"TROUBLE-MAKERS"
The Pakistani army has been launching attacks on Mehsud in South Waziristan over the past couple of weeks but it has yet to launch a full offensive.
Trouble is also brewing in another region on the Afghan border, North Waziristan.
Militants allied with Mehsud ambushed a military convoy there on Sunday, killing 16 soldiers. The next day a spokesman for the faction said his men would now go on the offensive against the army.
Analysts say the army would be reluctant to open a new front while it is finishes off the offensive in Swat and is planning its assault on South Waziristan.
Army helicopters dropped leaflets over North Waziristan appealing for the support of the people and assuring them there would be no offensive there.
"It is requested that you all play your role in protecting peace in your areas and keep an eye on the trouble-makers," the leaflet said.
The army also appealed for any information about plans for attacks on the security forces.
"Don't allow your soil to be used against the government and the army ... the government has no intention of launching a military operation in North Waziristan," it said.
Nearly 2 million people have fled the fighting in Swat and other parts of the northwest since late last year and aid groups are struggling to find funds to help them. (Additional reporting by Junaid Khan; Editing by Robert Birsel)