Pakistan Government air strikes 'kill 65 militants' near Afghan border
Pakistani air strikes have killed 65 militants in two tribal regions along the Afghan border, the army said.
Strikes in two areas of North Waziristan killed 50 militants and destroyed an ammunition cache, while strikes in the Khyber region killed another 15, an army statement said.
Militants who carry out attacks on both sides of the border have long been based in Pakistan’s remote western tribal regions.
The government launched a massive military operation in North Waziristan in June last year and vowed to step up efforts after a Taliban attack on a school in December that killed 150 people, mostly children.
The air strikes came a day after a twin suicide attack at the residence of Punjab provincial home minister Shuja Khanzada killed him and 17 others in the country’s east.
Mr Khanzada was a vocal supporter of harsh government tactics against the militants. Last month, he announced that Malik Ishaq, who led the al Qaida-linked Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, had been killed in a police shootout.
Jamatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed the suicide bombings, saying the attack was revenge for Ishaq’s killing.
