22 militants killed in NWA airstrikes

MIRANSHAH: The military claimed to have killed 22 militants in the Dattakhel Subdivision of North Waziristan Agency (NWA) on Sunday.
Security officials said the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter jets pounded suspected militants’ positions in Lowara Mandi, Lataka and Shawal Valley. Six compounds of militants were targeted in which 22 militants were killed and six others were injured.
No further information was provided about the identity and nationality of the slain militants.
The major operation against the Taliban and other militant groups has been intensified in North Waziristan that borders Afghanistan.
Nearly 3,000 militants have been killed and over 90 percent areas cleared since the launch of the offensive in June last year.
Security forces have mostly cleared Miranshah, Mir Ali and other residential areas of the militants but the remote mountainous Dattakhel Subdivision is still believed to be a stronghold of local and foreign militants.
A few weeks ago, security forces had launched a ground offensive against the militants in Dattakhel near the Afghan border but due to its proximity to the border, it is difficult to clear the whole area of the militants.
The Operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched on June 15, 2014 in North Waziristan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border as a renewed effort against militancy in the wake of June 8 attack on the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, for which the TTP and the IMU claimed responsibility.
Up to 30,000 soldiers are involved in the Zarb-e-Azb to flush out the militants hiding in North Waziristan. The operation has received widespread support from political, defence and civilian sectors. As a consequence, the overall security situation has improved and terrorist attacks in Pakistan have dropped to a six-year low since 2008.