Another 65 Militants Killed in Fresh Airstrikes

File Photo

Three terrorist hideouts also destroyed as Operation Zarb-e-Azb continues.

Pakistan’s military said Wednesday it had killed 65 militants and destroyed three hideouts in fresh airstrikes as part of a major offensive against the Taliban in the northwest.

Pakistan began Operation Zarb-e-Azb in June to clear insurgent bases from North Waziristan after a bloody attack on Karachi’s international airport finally sank faltering peace talks with the rebels.

Officials said that the new airstrikes happened early Wednesday in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan. “Three terrorists hideouts were destroyed through precise airstrikes in northwest of Datta Khel early morning today. Thirty-five terrorists were killed,” the military said in a statement, adding later that a village in the Shawal Valley had also been targeted, killing 30.

The conflict zone is off-limits to journalists, so there is no way to independently verify the number and identity of those killed.

Airstrikes, artillery, mortars and ground troops have all been used to retake territory in North Waziristan, which had become a haven for fighters with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant outfits. The military has said the major towns of Miranshah and Mir Ali had now been cleared of insurgents, along with a 90-kilometer road through North Waziristan.

The army announced earlier this month it had killed more than 900 militants and lost 82 soldiers since the start of the operation.