Gunships strike Pakistan Taliban in Swat

By Junaid Khan

MINGORA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani helicopter gunships and warplanes hit Taliban positions in the militants' Swat Valley stronghold Saturday, while a curfew prevented civilians from fleeing the fighting.

The struggle in the northwestern valley 130 km (80 miles) from Islamabad has become a test of Pakistan's resolve to fight a growing insurgency that has alarmed the West.

The military said up to 55 militants were killed in the day's clashes in Swat and four soldiers wounded, and that several militants had died in separate clashes close to the Afghan border. The figures could not be independently confirmed.

Pakistan's army went on a full-scale offensive after the government ordered troops to flush out militants from the Islamist stronghold, once an exotic tourist destination.

Fighting had picked up earlier in the week, triggering a civilian exodus. Fears are growing for those still trapped.

"We are feeling so helpless, we want to go but can't as there is a curfew," said Sallahudin Khan by telephone from Mingora, Swat's main town.

"We tried to leave yesterday after authorities relaxed the curfew for a few hours, but couldn't as the main road leading out of Mingora was literally jammed with the flood of fleeing people," he said as gunship fire boomed in the background.

Helicopters and warplanes targeted militant hideouts in Mingora and other areas in Swat, military officials said. Militants fired rockets at an army base in Mingora.