PESHAWAR: At least five suspected militants were killed and eight others were injured on Wednesday as security forces targeted insurgent hideouts in the Tirah Valley of Khyber tribal region.

According to sources, the security forces destroyed four militant hideouts in Drewand, Aarinam Wanra, and Zor kaley. The hideouts belonged to the outlawed group Lashkar-i-Islam.

The security forces used heavy machine guns and artillery to target the hideouts.

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However, these claims could not be independently verified as journalists have limited access to the restive tribal agency.

Pakistan's military launched the operation ‘Khyber-1’ last month with air strikes against LI hideouts in areas under the Mangal Bagh-led group’s control in Tirah and Bara.

The latest operation was launched amidst Zarb-i-Azb, a full-fledged military operation being conducted by the army against Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militants in the North Waziristan tribal region.

Khyber is among Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal districts near the Afghan border, rife with homegrown insurgents and foreign militants. These are also home to religious extremist organisations including Al Qaeda.