Empty streets, damage, as curfew imposed in wake of attack

(9 May 2009) 1. Wide of Mingora Valley 2. Wide of empty road during curfew 3. Mid of street 4. House with battle-damaged wall 5. Mid of hole in roof where mortar went through 6. Pan high angle, of mortar damage 7. Pan shot of damage in outside yard 8. SOUNDBITE (Urdu) Arshad Khan, Mingora resident: "A mortar shell hit this house. People in the area are very scared. People are evacuating and everybody is worried about where to go. There is no transport and a curfew is imposed on us." 9. Pakistani military helicopter flying above 10. Mid of valley, with smoke rising from one home 11. Wide of street with people leaving Mingora 12. Wide of Mingora market with closed shops STORYLINE: Residents in the Swat Valley town of Mingora faced another day of curfew, as Pakistani government forces continued to attack Taliban fighter positions on Saturday. Pakistan's leaders, encouraged by the United States, launched a full-scale offensive in the Swat Valley this week to halt the spread of Taliban control in districts within 60 miles (100 kilometres) of the capital. But the fighting has caused hundreds of thousands of terrified residents to flee, adding a humanitarian emergency to the nuclear-armed nation's security, economic and political problems. Tens of thousands of people are trapped in Mingora, Swat's main town. Some have accused the Taliban of not allowing them to leave, perhaps because they want to use them as human shields. Others came under attack even as they fled. Many on Saturday were taking advantage of a break in the curfew to gather their possessions and leave. Local resident Arshad Khan said people in the town were scared and were trying to leave, but didn't know where to go. Footage in Mingora showed homes said to have been hit by mortars. It was not clear who might have fired those munitions. On Saturday, the Pakistani army said its troops killed as many as 55 more Taliban fighters. An army statement said helicopter gunships attacked militant hideouts near in Mingora and killed 15 enemy fighters. It said an estimated 30 to 40 more died in clashes in more than a half-dozen other locations on Saturday. The military said four soldiers were wounded. Medics at the hospital in Mingora, were at full stretch to deal with dozens of residents caught up in the fighting. The United Nations says half a million people had fled the fighting, were on the move, or were trying to flee. On Saturday, an AP reporter saw jet fighters flying over Mingora and later heard explosions from further up the valley. Details of the fighting were not available. The army says it is reinforcing the 12,000 to 15,000 troops in Swat as they take on 4,000 to 5,000 militants, including small numbers of foreigners and hardened fighters from the South Waziristan border region. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...