Pakistani security forces have retaken a strategic mountain from pro-Taliban militants in the restive Swat valley in north-west Pakistan and shut down an illegal radio station used by their radical head as a propaganda machine.

The radio station, a vital part of pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah's campaign advocating jihad and the imposition of Shariat or Islamic law, has not been heard since Monday, local residents said on Tuesday.

Recorded messages from Fazlullah, also known as 'Mullah Radio', were broadcast by the station and he was not physically present there.

The government of North West Frontier Province said troops conducting operations against Fazlullah's men had secured the area between Kanju town and Najia Top, the highest peak in Swat district. It is believed the radio station was operating in this area.

Militants were fleeing from Imamdheri, Fazlullah's headquarters, as well as Kuza Banda, Bara Banda and Ningolai, all strongholds of the rebels, said state-run PTV.

The militant leader functioning as 'Governor' in Matta town was killed in an operation by the security forces, it said.

Fazlullah's radio station had continued broadcasting even after the federal government rushed thousands of troops to Swat in late October to quell the activities of the cleric and his Shaheen Commando Force.

Though several TV channels were blacked out by the government after President Pervez Musharraf [Images] imposed emergency earlier this month, the radio station could be heard across Swat. 

Military spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said that the security forces had taken control of mountains and ridges overlooking key towns in Swat after evicting militants.

"The militants had made bunkers and trenches on mountaintops and they were evicted from there," he told Dawn News channel.

After killing over 45 militants in fighting over the past two days, the troops are consolidating their positions and ensuring that rebels do not re-capture any towns and villages.

"The operations will continue in other areas where the militants are holed up," he said.

Fifteen security personnel were killed and 40 injured over the past 10 days. Twenty civilians also lost their lives in the fighting and the "figure has been low because of our concerted efforts to ensure that there is no collateral damage," Arshad said.

He said the army estimated that there were 700 to 1,000 militants in the Swat valley who were operating in small groups and kept moving from one area to another.

Over the past few days, the army launched its first major offensive using ground forces.

Helicopter gunships and artillery were also used to drive the rebels out of their mountaintop positions.