PESHAWAR: Jet strikes killed at least 30 suspected militants and destroyed a number of insurgent hideouts in the North Waziristan tribal region.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), foreign militants were among the 30 who were killed when jet fighters carried out airstrikes in North Waziristan's Dattakhel area.

The area is off-limits to journalists, making it impossible to independently verify the exact numbers and identity the dead.

The latest airstrikes come as military operation Zarb-i-Azb is underway in the tribal region. The army has said that over 1,000 militants and 86 soldiers have already been killed in the assault so far.

The operation was initiated on June 15 following a brazen militant attack on Karachi's international airport and failure of peace talks between the government and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) negotiators.

The offensive has driven out over 800,000 residents from North Waziristan and the army says it has cleared 90 per cent of the tribal region.