Pakistan army has launched Operation Khyber 1 in Bara area of Khyber tribal region to eliminate terrorists.
Several militant hideouts in Sipah, Malak Din Khel and Nala areas have been targeted during the operation. Earlier on Thursday, Pakistani fighter jets pounded suspected hideouts of militants in Tirah Valley, killing at least 21 insurgents.
This week s fighting concentrated around the remote Tirah valley in the region known as the Khyber agency, where TTP militants and their al Qaeda backers from across the mountainous area have been holed up since the start of the operation.
“The militants had established sanctuaries in Sepah and Akakhel and used to target security forces and local tribes people,” said one security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, in a reference to areas of the Khyber region.
The army maintains that it conducts air strikes only in response to militant attacks and never targets civilian areas.