By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan
Pakistan’s army continued to pound militant hideouts in the country’s northwestern tribal belt Tuesday, killing at least 86 suspected militants, officials said.
The army said fighter jets carried out several airstrikes in the town of Dattakhel in North Waziristan, killing 76 suspected militants and destroying a number of hideouts. Several foreigners were among the deceased, the army added.
Meanwhile, 10 suspected militants were killed in the Khyber Agency tribal region, near the border with Afghanistan.
North Waziristan and Khyber Agency, two of seven semi-autonomous tribal areas in Pakistan, have been a battleground between the army and Taliban militants since June 2014.
The fresh casualties put the militants' death toll at around 2,200, but media have been barred from accessing operation-hit areas and conducting independent verifications of the army figures.
Over 200 soldiers were also killed in the ongoing conflict.
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