SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association)- At least 13 militants have been killed in Pakistani army’s air raids in a volatile tribal area close to the country’s border with Afghanistan.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Pakistani military said the airstrikes took place in the country’s northwestern Khyber tribal district, where the pro-Taliban militants, including members of the so-called Lashkar-e-Islam group, have been holed up.
The air raids destroyed 10 hideouts of the pro-Taliban militants and an ammunition depot in the region, the statement added.
It also noted that a key militant commander was among those killed in Sunday’s airstrikes. The identity of the commander was not mentioned in the statement.
Pakistani military units have conducted military operations to eliminate terrorists in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region since June, but the spillover of militancy from neighboring Afghanistan has so far hampered the efforts.
Pro-Taliban militants have fled their strongholds in North Waziristan and taken refuge in Khyber, but in October, the Pakistani army also expanded its campaign to Khyber.
Militant groups operating in Pakistan have carried out numerous attacks against Pakistani security forces and civilians.
The Pakistani army says it has killed more than 1,100 militants in its clean-up operations along its border with Afghanistan. Almost 100 Pakistani soldiers have also been killed during the operations.
Many Pakistanis have lost their lives in such assaults since 2001, when the Pakistani government entered an alliance with Washington in its so-called war on terror.
Source:PressTV
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