Pakistan fighter jets kill at least 23 Taliban militants

Asia-Pacific, News June 28, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

Pakistani military fighter jets have bombed militant positions in the country’s rugged northwestern tribal region close to the border with Afghanistan, killing nearly two dozen militants.

According to a statement released by the army on Sunday, at least 23 Taliban militants were killed after military warplanes pounded their hideouts and ammunition depots in areas across Khyber and North Waziristan tribal districts.

“Huge ammunition dump was also blown up during the strikes in Khyber,” the statement read.

Pakistani armed forces launched a massive operation against Taliban in North Waziristan in June 2014, after a deadly raid on the Karachi International Airport ended Islamabad’s faltering peace talks with the pro-Taliban militants.

The army also started an offensive in Khyber in October 2014, carrying out air raids and using ground troops, artillery, and mortars.

Pakistan stepped up its anti-terror campaign following a December 16, 2014, attack on an military-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar, which claimed the lives of about 150 people, mostly children.

The army says it has managed to kill more than 2,700 militants over the past months.

The semi-autonomous tribal regions on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan have been a hideout for militant groups during the past years. The Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants use the mountainous border area to launch attacks in both countries.

Insecurity and violence has been increasing across Pakistan’s northwest tribal belt following the US-led 2001 invasion of neighboring Afghanistan.

Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives by the wave of violence and militancy sweeping across the country.