Air Strikes Kill 21 Militants in Pakistan’s North Waziristan

On the outskirts of Peshawar, located in Pakistan’s restive North West Frontier Province, local militants raise their weapons. (Photo: Reuters)

Twenty-one militants were killed in air strikes and ground operation in the North Waziristan area of Pakistan on Tuesday, the military’s media wing Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

Combined strikes by Pakistan Air Force, the army and ground forces continued the hunt for fleeing terrorists through a chase and cordon operation. Twenty-one terrorists were killed last night (Monday) as operations continue. Important heights and passes along the Pakistan-Afghan border have been secured. The Shawal Valley sanitisation is in progress.

<b> Lt Gen Asim Bajwa, Director General, ISPR</b>

The Pakistan Army launched a ground offensive in North Waziristan Agency’s mountainous Shawal Valley towards the end of 2015. The valley was regarded as the last haven of fleeing homegrown militants and their foreign cohorts.

The operation was aimed at clearing Taliban and Al Qaeda strongholds in North Waziristan and claims to have killed more than 3,750 militants since it commenced in 2014. Through continued air strikes, the military softened militant strongholds in North and South Waziristan that straddles along the border with Afghanistan.