PESHAWAR:
At least 26 militants were killed and about a dozen of their hideouts destroyed as fighter jets bombed targets in northwestern tribal areas on Friday, officials said.
At least 18 militants were killed in the Orakzai tribal region and seven of their hideouts destroyed after raids by warplanes, local government official Zaman Khattak told AFP.
He said the air strikes took place in the Mehmood Zai area of Orakzai, a known militant stronghold.
Separately in neighbouring Kurram Agency, jet fighter attacks killed eight militants and destroyed five of their hideouts, local government official Sher Bahadar Khan told AFP.
Local intelligence officials confirmed the air strikes and death toll.
Under US pressure to crack down on militant havens on the border, Pakistan has in the past two years stepped up military operations against largely homegrown militants in the tribal regions.
Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants frequently launch attacks across northwestern areas and the lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 28th, 2011.
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