Islamabad: The leader of Pakistani Taliban fighters in the Swat valley northwest of Islamabad has been wounded in fighting, a military spokesman said on Wednesday citing "credible information".
The Taliban leader, Fazlullah, has been on the run since the military launched an offensive in the region more than two months ago after an alarming expansion of militant influence raised fears for nuclear-armed Pakistan's stability.
"Most of the leadership is still present in the Valley and to a credible information In one of the strikes Fazlullah has been injured, this has been informed," military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas told a briefing.
Another military official said aircraft had attacked Fazlullah after he had been spotted.
Abbas said the offensive in the former tourist valley of Swat had entered its final phase after 158 soldiers had been killed.
But no top Taliban leaders have been among the approximately 1,600 militants the army has reported killed, leading to fears the fighters could make a come-back.
Independent casualty estimates are not available but Abbas said the Taliban leaders were gone from the valley 'for good'.
"We are chasing them and I want to assure you all and the people of Swat there is absolutely zero possibility of this leadership returning," Abbas said.
Earlier on Wednesday, US drones fired six missiles into a Pakistani Taliban training camp near the Afghan border, killing six militants, government and intelligence agency officials said.
About 2 million people have fled from their homes since the army began an offensive against Taliban militants in their Swat valley bastion in late April.
Most of them living with family or friends in "host communities" but about 2,80,000 are in tent camps.
The displaced are a sensitive issue for a government which critics say is bowing to US pressure to battle the militants.
The army has pushed the militants out of the former tourist valley's towns and it controls main lines of communication but clashes are flaring daily in some areas.
A spokesman for the government unit helping the displaced said on Tuesday an announcement would be made this week on when people can start going home.
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