Second Battle of Swat

The conflict between the Pakistani Army and Islamist insurgents is accepted to have begun on 16 March 2004 in the Battle of Wanna. Over the next number of years, different peace agreements were signed, despite the persistence of militant groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The groups' support came primarily from Pashtun tribal elements.

In 2007, the conflict was renewed after the attack on Lal Masjid in Islamabad. After the attack, confrontations and suicide attacks saw an uptick. On 21 August 2008, an attack on military production facilities in Wah left 70 dead and, on 20 September of that year, the Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing left 54 dead. On the 27th of October, the Pakistani government reacted with the First Battle of Swat to retake the valley from occupying militias, the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Fighting commenced in the largest and main city of the district, Mingora, between elite Pakistani commandos and about 300 Taliban militants positioned in deserted buildings and continued until 23 May 2009, when a major Pakistani offensive retook much of the city. Amid heavy street fighting, the Pakistani Army captured large parts of the city, including several key intersections and squares.{{cite news |title=Army holds key parts of Mingora as battle for Swat valley continues |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20090524-battle-swat-valley-continues-pakistan-taliban-mingora |date=2009-05-25 |work=France24.com |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612015514/http://www.france24.com/en/20090524-battle-swat-valley-continues-pakistan-taliban-mingora |archivedate=2009-06-12 }}

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".{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6355426.ece |title=Pakistani troops retake part of Mingora after battle with Taleban |date=May 25, 2009 |work=The Times|location=London |first=Zahid |last=Hussain}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} 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.

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.{{cite news|title=Pakistan military retakes town in Swat Valley |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hkiMxbHNH0BqgpWA2ZG6VD6wVTmAD98GGEEG1 |date=30 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614004619/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hkiMxbHNH0BqgpWA2ZG6VD6wVTmAD98GGEEG1 |archivedate=June 14, 2009 }} Fighting between Pakistani forces and Taliban militants continued in other areas. The Pakistani army claimed the death toll to be 1,200 Taliban fighters and 90 Pakistani soldiers.https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090530/wl_afp/pakistanunrestnorthwestmingora {{Dead link|date=May 2010}}

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.[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ed928c2e-47ac-11de-8271-00144feabdc0.html Pakistan army battles Taliban in Swat’s main city] {{subscription required}}

After retaking the town of Mingora, the military moved on to Malam Jabba and Qamabr Bazar, taking those towns and killing the TNSM leaders of those towns. On May 29, the Army cleared Aman Kot and the Technical Institute College on the Mingora-Kokarai road in Mingora. On the same day, the village of Peochar in the Peochar Valley, as well as the town of Bahrain in the north of Swat, had been taken by the military. Sporadic fighting went on in the rest of Swat and in the Shangla district.

File:Pakistan military in Swat - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg

On June 4, 2009, it was reported that Sufi Muhammad, the founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi or TNSM, was arrested in Amandarra along with other militant leaders.{{cite news|url=http://www.geo.tv/6-4-2009/43492.htm|title=Banned NSM confirms Maulana Sufi's arrest|date=June 4, 2009|publisher=GEO Pakistan|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026045904/http://www.geo.tv/6-4-2009/43492.htm|archivedate=October 26, 2014}} In the coming days there was confusion over this claim since the Taliban themselves said that Muhammad was missing. However, several days later it was confirmed that Sufi Muhammad was not captured and was in hiding, while two of his aides were captured by the Army. Those two aides, Muhammad Maulana Alam and Ameer Izzat Khan, were killed when militants attacked the prison transport they were in on June 7.

On June 6, the Taliban attacked Gul Jabba Checkpoint. This attack was repulsed, but cost the life of Captain Fiaz Ahmad Ghunian of the 72nd Punjab Regiment Pakistan Army.

On June 12, in response to a bomb explosion at a mosque that killed 38 civilians, local Pakistani militia numbering between 1,000 and 1,500 surrounded almost 300 militants.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8088621.stm |title=Pakistan Tribesmen battle Taliban|date=8 June 2009|publisher=BBC}} The Pakistani army sent Helicopter Gunships to provide air support to militia fighting in the villages of Shatkas and Ghazi Gai, where the fiercest fighting took place. Pakistani paramilitaries also set up mortar positions on the high ground overlooking the villages. 20 homes suspected of housing Taliban fighters were destroyed. 11 Taliban militants were killed in the fighting. On June 12, the Pakistani army captured the town of Chuprial in a fierce battle. 39 Taliban fighters and 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed. On June 14, Pakistani soldiers began to clear the last pockets of resistance. On July 15, clashes throughout the Swat valley left 11 Taliban militants and 1 Pakistani soldier dead, with the heaviest fighting taking place in the town of Kabal. The refugees that had fled their homes also began to return on July 15.

On September 11, 2009, the Pakistan Army announced that Muslim Khan and four other senior TNSM commanders were captured near Mingora.{{cite news|title=TTS spokesman Muslim Khan, 4 others captured|url=https://www.nation.com.pk/11-Sep-2009/tts-spokesman-muslim-khan-4-others-captured|date=September 11, 2009|work=The Nation (Pakistan)|access-date=September 19, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090915183437/http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/11-Sep-2009/TTS-spokesman-Muslim-Khan-4-others-captured|archive-date=September 15, 2009|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title= Swat Taliban mouthpiece, top commander captured |url=http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/04-muslim-khan-arrested-qs-03|publisher=Dawn Media Group|author=Ismail Khan|date=12 Sep 2009 }} Maulana Fazlullah was actually hit in two air strikes and was critically wounded and stranded for some time in Imam Dehri without any access to medical assistance.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8144772.stm|title=Swat Taliban chief 'near death'|date=10 July 2009|author=Syed Shoaib Hasan |publisher=BBC}}

By August 22, 2009, 1.6 million of 2.2 million refugees returned home, as per UN estimates.{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/16-million-Pakistani-refugees-return-home-UN/articleshow/4921578.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024131159/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-08-22/pakistan/28191405_1_refugees-return-home|url-status=live|archive-date=October 24, 2012|work=The Times of India|title=1.6 million Pakistani refugees return home: UN|date= August 22, 2009}} On January 11, 2010, Hayatullah Hamyo one of the TTP commanders in Swat was captured in Orangi Town in Karachi where he was keeping a low profile by working for PTCL (Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd).{{cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/18-taliban-commander-nabbed-from-karachi-am-04|title= Taliban commander nabbed from Karachi |publisher=Dawn Media Group|date=11 Jan 2010 }}

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

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{{coord missing|Khyber Pakhtunkhwa}}

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Category:Battles of the insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Category:Battles involving the Pakistani Taliban

Category:2009 in Pakistan

Category:Sniper warfare

Category:May 2009 in Pakistan

Category:June 2009 in Pakistan

Category:July 2009 in Pakistan

Category:Battles in 2009

Category:Swat District