Pakistani military helicopters shelled militant hideouts in the country’s restive northwest on Wednesday as part of a massive ongoing offensive against the Taliban and other extremists, killing 10 insurgents, officials said.
The helicopters pounded Islamist compounds in the Khar Warsak area, 12 kilometres (seven miles) north of Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region. The helicopters destroyed three militant compounds and killed 10 insurgents during the shelling.
Jets and artillery began hitting militant targets in North Waziristan on June 15, launching an operation to regain full control of the district after years of pressure from Washington and other powers.
So far, 376 militants and 19 soldiers have been killed in the offensive, according to the military, though with the area off-limits to journalists the number and identity of the dead is impossible to verify.
Major General Asim Bajwa, the chief spokesman for the Pakistani military demanded Afghanistan do more to track down hardline cleric Maulana Fazlullah, who took over the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leadership last year after previous chief Hakimullah Mehsud was killed by a US drone.
Fazlullah is believed to be in hiding across the border.
