PESHAWAR/LANDI KOTAL: At least 65 suspected militants were killed in air strikes in North Waziristan and Khyber tribal regions on Monday.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations, 50 terrorists were killed in precise aerial strikes in Shawal and Gharlamai areas of North Waziristan.

The terrorists’ infrastructure, including an ammunition dump and several hideouts, had been destroyed, the ISPR said.

In Khyber Agency, at least 15 militants were killed when military planes bombed their hideouts in Tirah valley.

The 15 militants killed in the air strikes in Rajgul mountainous area close to Afghan border, the ISPR said, included two suicide bombers.

Security officials had earlier claimed that most localities in Tirah, except the Rajgul pass, were in their control.

They said that militants belonging to Lashkar-i-Islam and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan had taken refuge in forests of Rajgul and they would now face air attacks to force them to leave the area.

The army has stopped ground operations in Tirah, except for mine clearing in areas which are in their control.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2015

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