Pakistan kills 34 in airstrikes on suspected militants
Pakistan's military said it killed 34 militants Wednesday in airstrikes on a tribal region near the Afghan border as part of a major offensive against insurgents that began last year, AFP reported.
The Taliban and Lashkar-e-Islam militant groups are based in Khyber, one of seven autonomous tribal districts along Pakistan's western border, which became a hideout for Islamist militants following the U.S.-led invasion of neighboring Afghanistan in 2001.
"In precise aerial strikes in Tirah, Khyber region, 34 terrorists were killed today," the military said in a statement.
The military began its latest offensive in Khyber in October 2014, four months after a similar operation in the North Waziristan district which was triggered by a bloody Taliban attack on Karachi airport that sank faltering peace talks.
Both conflict zones are off-limits to journalists, making it difficult to verify the number and identity of those killed.