Islamabad, Feb 20 (DPA) Pakistan’s army said Saturday that it killed at least 30 militants in an aerial strike in its north-western tribal area bordering Afghanistan.
The attack took place in South Waziristan, a former Taliban stronghold where the army in October launched an operation to root out militants blamed for a series of deadly bombings across the country.
“Reportedly 30 terrorists have been killed by security forces through an aerial strike,” a military statement said.
It said the strikes were launched at hideouts in the remote Shawal Mountains following a tip that militants were present.
Army operations forced the militants abandon the main town but they are still active in the largely uncontrolled countryside, which remains inaccessible to the army that has to rely on air power in the area.
The US-led Western forces in Afghanistan accuse the militants of using the Pakistani region to train fighters and launch operations against them. The US has also been targeting the area with drone strikes.
Pakistan has been trying to put down the insurgency but so far with limited success. Its operation in South Waziristan dispersed the militants but they fled to the nearby North Waziristan district and other areas such as the Shawal valley.
Analysts said NATO’s success in Afghanistan is closely linked with Pakistan’s will and capability to disrupt the militants’ network in its tribal areas.
