20 militants killed in Pakistan airstrikes

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani airstrikes on Friday killed 20 militants in the country’s lawless tribal area bordering Afghanistan, the military said, part of a massive ongoing operation against the Taleban.
The strikes took place in Khyber tribal district where the military began its latest offensive in October 2014 carrying out airstrikes and using artillery, mortars and ground troops.
“Twenty terrorists including some of their important commanders were killed in precise aerial strikes in remote areas of Khyber today,” the military said in a statement.
It added there were reports of about 18 militants injured in the strikes.
The area is remote and off-limits to journalists, making it difficult to verify the army’s claims, and the number and identity of those killed.
Pakistan has been battling a homegrown insurgency for over a decade following the late 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
The Pakistani military has recently undertaken a formal offensive to flush Pakistani Taleban and other militant strongholds in the North Waziristan tribal area in June last year and officials claim most of the area has been cleared. Authorities have since intensified operations, using airstrikes, artillery and mortars to take back territory both in the border regions and other parts of the country.
The counter-militancy operation is an extension of the Zarb-e-Azb army offensive that has been going on in the nearby North Waziristan tribal district since June of 2014. The army says the offensive has so far left up to 2,800 militants and 350 soldiers dead.