Pakistani troops took the main town in strategically important Buner Valley on Wednesday after dropping by helicopter behind Taleban lines, killing over 50 militants in two days of fighting, the military said. Troops also recovered 18 of around 70 police and paramilitaries abducted by militants in the area Tuesday, military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told a news briefing in Rawalpindi. Abbas said troops had “successfully secured Dagar,” the main town in Buner district, and established links with police and paramilitary soldiers there, but militants were occupying three police stations in nearby villages. “We assure the nation that armed forces have the capability to ward off any kind of threat,” Abbas said. One security officer had died in “fierce fighting” with the militants and three others have been wounded, he added. “We are restrained by the fact that militants have made the people of Buner hostages,” he said. Abbas said an Arab correspondent of Al-Jazeera TV, Abdul Rehman Matar, was wounded after his vehicle was caught up in crossfire in Dagar. “He was given medical treatment and he is stable now,” the general said adding that Matar's other colleagues were safe. The military estimated some 500 militants were in the Buner valley and that it might take a week to clear them out. Ikram Seghal, a retired army officer turned analyst, said the Taleban could have used Buner to advance on Tarbela, a dam regarded as critical for water and electricity supplies, before reaching Islamabad. “It is very important psychologically, tactically and strategically to make sure that Buner is cleared of these Taleban,” said Seghal.
