Air strikes kill 15 militants in Shawal Valley

Air strikes come a week after security forces moved in on Taliban strongholds there

PARACHINAR: Air strikes killed at least 15 suspected militants in Shawal Valley on Thursday, intelligence officials said, a week after security forces moved in on Taliban strongholds there.

The deeply forested ravines of the valley are a key smuggling route between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and are dotted with Taliban bases used as launch pads for attacks on Pakistani forces.

In the latest air strikes, a local security commander and two intelligence officials said that 15 or 16 suspected militants were killed in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan.

Read: Operation Zarb-e-Azb: 13 militants killed in military air raids

The Taliban used to control all of North Waziristan, a mountainous region that includes the Shawal Valley and runs along the Afghan border.

Pakistan Army launched an operation there last June and has recaptured most of it.

There have been a number of air strikes in the Shawal Valley over the past week and two drone attacks, but no sign of a large ground offensive.

Most phone lines to the area have been cut and military roadblocks curtail civilian movement.