Pakistan has claimed that its month-long offensive to crush Taliban fighters in the northwest Swat region could end 'within days'.
Swat valley's main town Mingora is now back in government hands and Defence Secretary Syed Athar Ali told a security forum in Singapore that three targeted northwest districts were almost clear of Taliban rebels.
'Operations in Swat, Buner and adjoining areas have almost met complete success,' he said.
The army remains locked in battle in some areas, but the fall of Mingora is a critical milestone in an offensive launched after the Taliban thrust to within 100km of Islamabad.
Washington, which is backing the military drive, had warned that the rebels threatened Pakistan's very existence.
Officials claimed lower-ranking leaders had been killed in the attack on Mingora but many top militants escaped into the surrounding rugged mountain terrain.
Pakistan blames Swat Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah for masterminding the nearly two-year uprising in Swat valley.
The insurgency has transformed a scenic region once popular with Western tourists into a battle ground, with armed Taliban in April patrolling the streets of Mingora.
Mr Fazlullah led thousands of supporters - a mixture of hardcore ideologues and disenfranchised young men - in a brutal campaign that beheaded opponents, burned scores of schools and fought against government troops since November 2007.
But as the government ups its campaign to stamp out the militants, fears are growing of a wave of revenge attacks on cities across Pakistan.
The northwestern capital Peshawar and the eastern cultural centre of Lahore have both been rocked by explosions in the last five days, killing a total of 39 people and wounding hundreds more.
