(MENAFN- QNA) At least 55 militants have been killed during the ongoing operation by the Pakistani army in Pakistan's volatile North Waziristan tribal region.
The Pakistani military said in a statement that ground forces backed by fighter jets targeted the hideouts of militants in the Datta Khel area near the Afghan border late on Friday, Press TV reported.
It said that 39 militants, including two senior militant commanders, were killed in the air raids.
The statement added the army also destroyed an underground tunnel system and a large underground cache of weapons and ammunition during the operation.
In a separate incident, 16 militants were killed during an ambush by Pakistani troops on the border between the Orakzai and Khyber tribal regions on Friday night. At least 20 militants were wounded in the attack.
The Pakistan army intensified its attacks against pro-Taliban militants after a group of insurgents stormed an army-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar and killed about 150 people, including 132 students on December 16. Some 120 students were also injured in the raid.
According to the army, over 1,200 militants have been killed since the start of a massive offensive launched June 15 against militants in North Waziristan. The military offensive was launched after a terrorist attack on Pakistan's largest airport in Karachi.
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