PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Pakistani jet fighters on Thursday pounded suspected hideouts in a Taliban-infested tribal district, killing at least 18 militants, administration and military officials said.
The air strikes targeted fighters in the Baizai area of Mohmand on the Afghan border, local official Maqsood Amin told AFP. The same area in the lawless tribal region was scene of a bloody clash last week in which military officials reported 50 militants and four soldiers dead. "Jets and helicopters pounded Soran Darra town on Thursday and destroyed two hideouts," Amin said. At least 18 militants were killed and 25 wounded in the raids, he said. A senior military officer in the northwestern city of Peshawar confirmed that military planes participated in the attack. Speaking on condition of anonymity he said the aircraft carried out several sorties and destroyed militant hideouts. "We have reports that 15-20 militants died in these attacks," he said. Independent verification of the casualties was not possible because access of journalists and aid workers is banned to the area. The United States has branded the northwestern tribal area, which lies outside Pakistani government control, a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and one of the most dangerous places on Earth. US officials have pressured Pakistan to open a major offensive in North Waziristan, but Pakistani commanders say their troops are already overstretched. With an estimated 147,000 forces in the northwest -- more than the number of US-led foreign troops in Afghanistan -- the Pakistani army has also endured heavy losses.
