Hundreds of Pakistani commandos were dropped by helicopter into a mountainous Taleban stronghold in the Swat district yesterday as the Army stepped up its campaign to root out the militants’ top commanders.

Members of the counter-insurgency force landed behind the front line in the Piochar region, about 40 miles from Mingora, the main city in the Swat Valley.

It was the first time that such forces had been involved in fighting since the military offensive began in the valley more than a week ago. “It signifies a major shift in the fighting,” Major-General Athar Abbas, the chief mil