Islamabad, July 20 (IANS) Pakistani jets have killed at least 28 militants in air strikes in North Waziristan tribal region, the military said Sunday.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said the terrorists killed in Shawal region include foreigners.
Six terrorist hideouts were also destroyed in the operation, Dawn online reported.
Most of the militants from Miranshah and Mirali have escaped to the Shawal valley which stretches across both North and South Waziristan Agency, the army said.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, former spokesman of the Tehreek-i-Taliban, told the Dawn Sunday that the security forces have exaggerated the figure of Taliban casualties.
Ehsan claimed the jets were bombing civilians who were being cited as “terrorists killed”.
The media has no access to the region, making it difficult to verify the claims of either the military or militant sources, the report said.
The military had earlier said security forces have cleared most of Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan, and are now carrying out house-to-house search in Mirali, a main town and a stronghold of the Pakistani and foreign militants.
The military operation was launched by the army June 15 following a brazen Taliban terror attack on Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport June 8.
About 900,000 people from North Waziristan have been displaced so far in the operation, according to figures released by the FATA Disaster Management Authority.