Desperation in Pakistan as fighting rages in Swat Valley

Mingora: Thousands of fearful civilians, many on foot, have fled an embattled Pakistani valley taking advantage of a lifted curfew that could precede an even more intense round of fighting between the military and the Taliban.

The army says warplanes and troops killed dozens of entrenched militants on Saturday in the assault on northwestern Swat Valley.

The offensive has prompted the flight of hundreds of thousands of terrified residents, adding a humanitarian emergency to the nuclear-armed nation's problems.

The curfew was lifted on Sunday to help more people leave the area.

Pakistani intelligence officials said a suspected US missile strike killed nine people, mostly foreigners, in South Waziristan, another militant stronghold near the Afghan border.