Helicopters destroy 3 militant hideouts near Miramshah, kill 10 terrorists

BANNU: Military helicopters shelled militant hideouts on Wednesday in the Khar Warsak area, 12 kilometres north of Miramshah, killing 10 insurgents, officials said.

"The helicopters destroyed three militant compounds and killed 10 insurgents during the shelling," a local security official told AFP.

A local intelligence official confirmed the attack and militant casualties.

Nearly 500,000 people have fled the offensive in North Waziristan, which is aimed at wiping out longstanding militant strongholds in the area, which borders Afghanistan.

Tens of thousands of families have left for Bannu, close to North Waziristan, while hundreds more have moved further afield to the towns of Lakki Marwat, Karak and Dera Ismail Khan since the offensive began in mid-June.

Jets and artillery began hitting militant targets in North Waziristan on June 15, launching an operation to regain full control of the district. The assault was finally launched after a dramatic attack on Karachi airport last month which killed dozens of people and marked the end of a faltering peace process with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

So far, 376 militants and 19 soldiers have been killed in the offensive, according to the military, though with the area off-limits to journalists the number and identity of the dead is impossible to verify.