18 militants killed in Pak aerial strikes

At least 18 militants were killed today when Pakistani military jets pounded their hideouts in the country's restive northwestern tribal region, a day after 15 militants were killed in the same area.
The jets targeted rebels in the Madakhel area of Dattakhel region of North Waziristan, where the security forces have been battling al-Qaeda linked militants since June.
A security official confirmed that 18 suspected militants were killed in the precision attacks at their positions.
The media has no access to the area, making it difficult to verify the information from independent sources.
Yesterday, Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement that 15 terrorists were killed in precise aerial strikes.

North Waziristan was earlier considered a stronghold of militants before an operation to flush out militants from the area was launched.
Military operation Zarb-i-Azb was launched by the Pakistan army on June 15 following a brazen militant attack on Karachi's international airport and failure of peace talks between the government and Pakistani Taliban negotiators.
The operation has killed more than 1,250 militants in the region but the rebels are still believed to be present in the mountainous border region and often launch attacks at the forces and civilians.