PESHAWAR: Pakistani warplanes pounded militants’ hideouts in the northwestern tribal area before dawn on Wednesday, killing at least 20 Taliban insurgents, security officials said.
The jets targeted hideouts in the tribal Orakzai district and at least four compounds were hit, they said, in the latest surge of fighting between security forces and militants in the Afghan border areas.
Local intelligence officials confirmed the air strikes killing at least 20 Taliban militants in the bombing.
The hideouts belonged to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commanders Mulla Tufan and Commander Moheyuddin, a security official said. There are reports that Moheyuddin may have been killed in the bombing, he said.
A military official in Peshawar said "four hideouts have been destroyed and the death toll may go up".