Pakistan flag flies over former Taliban stronghold

The army says it has flushed the militants out of the tribal region of Bajaur, where it has been fighting since August 2008.The Taliban nerve centre was in an area called Damadola, in the shadow of snow-capped peaks. The Pakistani flag now flies here, for the first time in the history of the state.

The militants had planned on a long stay. They dug in, quite literally, carving about 150 caves and tunnels deep into the rock. We were given access to this labyrinth, which the army believes might have taken five or six years to build. Crouching low to enter the complex we found traces of the fighters who fled in haste. At the entrance to one cave there was a pair of training shoes.