Renewed Swat fighting kills many

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Renewed fighting between Pakistani forces and pro-Taliban militants in Swat valley after the collapse of a cease-fire may have killed dozens.

The New York Times, quoting Badshah Gul Wazir home secretary for the North-West Frontier Province, reported Friday that in the latest round of fighting, which began the previous day, government forces backed by helicopters attacked about 500 militants, killing about 60 of them.

But the militants claimed they were holding 44 captured Frontier Corps soldiers as hostages.

The Times report said the rising violence in the Swat region shows the fight against pro-Taliban and pro-al-Qaida Islamic militants has spread beyond Pakistan’s restive tribal areas into more settled areas.

The report said the growing insurgency within the country also seems to be turning its attention more against the military government of President Pervez Musharraf for its alliance with U.S. President George Bush’s administration than the NATO forces in neighboring Afghanistan.

A local Swat lawyer told the Times the militants now control about 10 percent of the northwest province, adding, “But psychologically they have terrorized the entire area. No one feels secure.”