Pak army captures 'Khooni Chowk' from Taliban

Islamabad, May 25: The Pakistan army on Sunday, May 24, said that it took control over the 'Green Chowk' which the Pakistanis call 'Khooni Chowk' and seven other major crossing in Mingora. The army reclaimed these areas by a street-by-street urban fighting whose success is considered critical to flushing out the militants from the valley as a whole.

The advance in Swat came as helicopter gunships pounded militant hideouts in a nearby region, killing over 18 civilians. While, the police has announced the arrest of a militant commander and six other Taliban fighters elsewhere in the northwest.

The US has wooved Pakistan to use force to root out the al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents, who are often involved in attacks on US and NATO troops across the border. The operation in Swat has strong support from Washington, and retaking Mingora, the valley"s main commercial hub, could be the stiffest test for the security forces.

Claiming 'Green Chowk' is of high symbolic value. This area is nicknamed as Khooni Chowk or 'bloody intersection as the Taliban left so many mutilated bodies as a warning for the army. The dead were left hanging from trees. Some had notes attached that accused the victims of spying and told locals not to move the bodies until specified times.

One India News