File Photo
Two arms and ammunition dumps also destroyed in aerial strikes in Tirah Valley.
Pakistan’s military said on Wednesday it had killed 30 militants in airstrikes on a tribal region near the Afghan border as part of a major anti-insurgent offensive that began last year.
The strikes hit the strategic Tirah valley in Khyber Agency, where the Pakistani Taliban and Lashkar-e-Islam groups have strongholds.
“Terrorist hideouts were targeted through precise aerial strikes in Tirah, Khyber region killing 30 terrorists,” the military said in a statement. Two arms and ammunition dumps were also destroyed in the strikes, the military said.
The military began its latest offensive in Khyber in October 2014, four months after a similar operation began in North Waziristan, triggered by a bloody Taliban attack on Karachi airport that sank faltering peace talks.
Airstrikes, artillery, mortars and ground troops have all been used to take back territory. Both conflict zones are off-limits to journalists, making it difficult to verify the number and identity of those killed.