PESHAWAR, Oct 27 (INP): At least 25 suspected militants have been killed and 10 others injured in fresh airstrikes in Dattakhel tehsil of North Waziristan tribal region, sources said on Monday.  The dead also included two suspected Uzbek militants.  Official sources say the jets targeted militant hideouts in Lataka, Sanzai, Danari and other adjoining areas.

Further information regarding the airstrikes was unavailable at the time of filing of this report.  In a separate incident on Monday, at least nine soldiers were injured when militants targeted a security forces vehicle with an improvised explosive device (IED) in Charmang tehsil of Bajaur tribal agency.  The injured included seven Frontier Corps (FC) personnel and two Levies men.  In June, the Pakistan Army began Operation Zarb-i-Azb against militant hideouts in North Waziristan tribal agency after a bloody raid on Karachi Airport ended faltering peace talks between the government and Pakistani Taliban militants.

North Waziristan is a major base for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and umbrella group of extremist militants mainly based in the remote tribal areas.  The military says it has killed more than a thousand militants and lost almost a hundred soldiers since the start of the operation.  But the toll and identity of those killed is difficult to verify because journalists do not have regular access to the conflict zones.

INP