PESHAWAR - Pakistani commandos dropped into a Taliban stronghold in Swat valley Tuesday, stepping up a punishing offensive against militants that has now displaced more than half a million people.
Frightened civilians have streamed out of three northwest districts ripped apart by fighting, with the UN refugee agency announcing that 501,496 stranded people had registered with authorities since May 2.
Airborne troops Tuesday opened a new front in Swat`s northern mountains, the suspected stronghold of firebrand Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah and his top aides behind a nearly two-year uprising that has devastated the area.
"Today Pakistan army heli-borne troops have landed in the valley of Peochar and their mission is to conduct search-and-destroy operations," Major General Athar Abbas told a news conference.
Military officials said the troop landings, around 65 kilometres (40 miles) northwest of the main Swat town of Mingora, were the first such assault during the latest US-backed offensive to crush the Taliban in the district.
Attack helicopters also shelled suspected Taliban hideouts in Malam Jabba, once popular for its pristine ski slopes, a military official said.