PESHAWAR: At least 25 suspected militants were killed early on Tuesday as F-16 jets bombed militant hideouts in the Tirah valley along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, military sources said.

Military jets targeted nine suspected insurgent hideouts in various parts of the Kokikhel area in Tirah valley of the Khyber tribal region, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed.

Pakistani fighter jets have been pounding targets in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) for the past couple of weeks.

The air strikes are the latest in a succession of such attacks carried out by the Pakistani military in the tribal belt this year.

The last were carried out in North Waziristan in late May, killing at least 75 people and causing some 58,000 people to flee from the district in fear of a fuller ground offensive that has been anticipated for years.

The Khyber district itself was targeted previously in April in aerial bombing that killed 37 people.

The district is believed to be home to several militant factions, most notably Lashkar-i-Islam, led by warlord Mangal Bagh, as well foreign fighters from Central Asia.

Opinion

Editorial

Military convictions
Updated 22 Dec, 2024

Military convictions

Pakistan’s democracy, still finding its feet, cannot afford such compromises on core democratic values.
Need for talks
22 Dec, 2024

Need for talks

FOR a long time now, the country has been in the grip of relentless political uncertainty, featuring the...
Vulnerable vaccinators
22 Dec, 2024

Vulnerable vaccinators

THE campaign to eradicate polio from Pakistan cannot succeed unless the safety of vaccinators and security personnel...
Strange claim
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Strange claim

In all likelihood, Pakistan and US will continue to be ‘frenemies'.
Media strangulation
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Media strangulation

Administration must decide whether it wishes to be remembered as an enabler or an executioner of press freedom.
Israeli rampage
21 Dec, 2024

Israeli rampage

ALONG with the genocide in Gaza, Israel has embarked on a regional rampage, attacking Arab and Muslim states with...