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35 militants killed in army airstrikes in NW Pakistan

Xinhua, January 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

At least 35 militants were killed in Pakistan army's airstrikes in the northwestern restive tribal region of North Waziristan, the military said on Sunday.

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan army's mouthpiece, said jet fighters pounded the hideouts of militants in Datta Khel area of the tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

The militants belonged to the banned outfit Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), while some foreign militants were also among the killed terrorists, the military said in a statement.

The strikes are the part of Pakistan army's ongoing operation Zarb-e-Azb (Sharp Strike) against militants in the region that it launched last year.

According to official figures, more than 2,000 militants and 190 soldiers have been killed so far in the military operation that was launched on June 15 against foreign and local terrorists hiding in North Waziristan, once the stronghold of the TTP.

The operation was carried out after failed peace talks and a deadly attack at the country's busiest airport in Karachi on June 8, which left at least 40 people, including 10 terrorists, dead.

The Pakistan army claimed to have recaptured and cleared more than 90 percent area of the region and have also destroyed hundreds of hideouts, including bomb-making factories and command and control centers of the terrorists. Endi