Second Battle of Swat

Second Battle of Swat
Part of War in North-West Pakistan
Date 16 May 2009 – present Location Swat, Pakistan Result Ongoing conflict
Belligerents
Pakistani Army	Taliban
Commanders and leaders
Maj Gen Sajjad Ghani	Maulana Fazlullah Abu Saeed  † Misbah ud-Din † Sultan Khan  † Qambar Bazar Maulana Shahid  † Qari Quraish † Muslim Khan
Strength
15,000	2,000 (approx.)
Casualties and losses
90 killed	1,200 killed 29 captured

The Second Battle of Swat began in May 2009 and involved the Pakistani Army and Islamic militants in a fight for control of the Swat district of Pakistan. The first Battle of Swat had ended with a peace agreement, widely criticised in the west, that the government had signed with the Taliban in February 2009. However, by late April 2009 government troops began to clash with the Taliban, and in May the government launched military operations throughout the district and elsewhere to tackle the Taliban.

Fighting in the largest and main city of the district, Mingora, between elite Pakistani commandos and about 300 Taliban militants positioned in deserted buildings commenced and continued until 23 May 2009, when a major Pakistani offensive moved in and retook much of the city. Amid heavy street fighting, the Pakistani Army captured large parts of the city, including several key intersections and squares. Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah had reportedly also been captured in the fighting but it was later found to be not true.

On 24 May, the Pakistani Army announced it had retaken large parts of Mingora. Major-General Athar Abbas, the Army's chief military spokesman, announced that "we want to eliminate the entire [Taliban] leadership". Pakistani soldiers continued to engage the Taliban in street fighting and search buildings for Taliban fighters. Pakistani troops also retook several nearby towns previously under Taliban control. The Pakistani military claimed to have killed 1,100 Taliban and captured 29, while losing 60 soldiers.

On 30 May, the Pakistani military announced that it had regained control of all of Mingora, though small pockets of resistance still remained in the city's outskirts.Fighting between Pakistani forces and Taliban militants continued in other areas. The Pakistani army claims the death toll as 1,200 Taliban fighters and 90 Pakistanis.

There were believed to be 200,000 people in Mingora as recently as a week prior to the eruption of hostilities. Following the lifting of a curfew, as of 23 May a large exodus left what was believed to be only 10,000-20,000 civilians in the town.

See also

• First Battle of Swat
• 2009 refugee crisis in Pakistan
• War in North-West Pakistan
• Operation Black Thunderstorm