15 militants killed in NWA air strikes

MIRANSHAH: The military authorities said 15 militants, including foreigners, were killed when jet-fighters struck targets in the Dattakhel area of North Waziristan Agency on Thursday night.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the jets targeted several positions of militants and killed 15 of them.It did not provide details about the identity of the local and foreign militants killed in the air strikes.
The government had launched the military Operation Zarb-e-Azb on June 15 last year against the militants in North Waziristan. The military has claimed that more than 90 percent of the area in North Waziristan has been cleared of militants. The towns and Tehsils of Mir Ali and Miranshah had also been cleared. Dattakhel, a stronghold of the local militants, and Shawal Valley are now under attack by security forces.
AFP adds from Islamabad: A security official in Miranshah told AFP that the jets pounded the areas close to the Afghan border in thick forests and killed at least 17 militants. He said three compounds and five vehicles were also destroyed in the action.
The official said that the killed militants included Uzbek and Afghan nationals and members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).Senior military officials based in Peshawar said they were not in a position to confirm the exact death toll but confirmed that the strikes happened in the area.Some reports, however, claimed that 30 militants were killed in air strikes.