Pakistan airstrike targets three hideouts, kills 35 militants

Islamabad, Sept 10: At least 35

were killed in an airstrike launched by the

army in the country's northwest tribal area of North Waziristan on Wednesday morning, an army statement said.

Inter Services Public Relations, the mouthpiece of Pakistan Army, said in a statement that the militants were killed when their three hideouts were targeted and destroyed by the army jet fighters.

The air raid was carried out in Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, a restive tribal area at Pakistan-Afghanistan border, where security forces have been launching a major armed offensive against Taliban militants since June 15, Xinhua reported.

Around 25,000 to 30,000 troops are participating in the ongoing operation

To date, over 900 militants have been killed in the operation that aims at wiping out the militant stronghold in the area.

Talking to media earlier last month, Gen. Raheel Sharif, the country's chief of army staff, said the armed forces were determined to flush out the militants with their highly-skilled trained and professional expertise even from remote and hard areas of North Waziristan.

Media reports said that around 25,000 to 30,000 troops are participating in the ongoing operation.

Over one million people have fled the offensive in the area and are living in refugee camps in Bannu area of neighbouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

IANS