Fierce fighting has continued in parts of northwest Pakistan between government forces and Taliban militants.
Civilian residents of the area have been taking advantage of breaks in curfew to flee the area, looking for refuge in safer parts of the country.
In the town of Dargai, in Malakand Division, Pakistani military helicopters buzzed over the town while many of the shops in the town's market were closed for business.
Meanwhile in nearby Palie Darra, local residents reported that a Levies (frontier police) post had been attacked by Taliban fighters and ransacked.
It was not clear when the attack took place, but one local resident said three of the policemen had been taken prisoner, another was killed, and three police vehicles were also taken by the Taliban.
The army said on Wednesday that troops had secured footholds in the Swat Valley, a valley overrun by the Taliban, killing 11 enemy fighters and discovering five headless corpses near the region's main town.
Elsewhere in the turbulent northwest, police said dozens of assailants stormed a transport depot handling supplies for NATO troops in neighbouring Afghanistan and torched eight trucks before escaping.
Rising violence, including a string of attacks on NATO and US supplies, have fed concern that more of Pakistan's border region is slipping from government control and into the hands of the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Last month, Pakistani authorities abandoned peace talks with Taliban militants and launched a military operation to expel them from their stronghold in the Swat Valley.
The army claims to have killed more than 750 militants since the operation began.
But the fighting has also driven some 800,000 people from their homes, creating a humanitarian emergency that could undercut support for the pro-Western government.
The army said on Wednesday that commandos airlifted into the valley the day before had established a "firm hold" in the remote Piochar area, the rear base of Swat Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah.
Officials said they were proceeding carefully, wary that civilian casualties and massive disruption could sap public support for a sustained operation to undo recent Taliban gains.
The army says it has no information to corroborate accounts from refugees of dozens of people killed and injured in the fighting, which has included massive airstrikes on militant targets.
Tens of thousands of refugees have found refuge in camps run by the government and the United Nations.
In the UN-run Sheza Camp near Madan, thousands of internally displaced people have sought refuge from fierce fighting in the Swat Valley.
Gul Khan, who has been forced to leave his home due to the fighting, lives at the camp with his family.
He says there are nine people crowded into one tent.
Khan noted that there were few basic amenities at the UN camp, but said that he'd fled a war and had no choice but to be there.
Elsewhere in the camp, workers built new shower and toilet facilities, while camp residents had to make do with washing in water from a roadside stream near the camp site.
The United Nations has registered 501,000 refugees from the latest fighting.
About 73,000 are living in hot, tented camps established just south of the war zone.
Officials acknowledge that many more have taken refuge with relatives without registering with the authorities.
AAP