Pak air strikes kill 19 militants in tribal belt

At least 19 militants were killed as Pakistani military jets pounded their hideouts in two separate operations in the restive northwest tribal region near the Afghan border.
The jets targeted rebels in Tirrah Valley, Akka Khel and Koki Khel areas of Khyber Agency, killing at least eight militants and injuring 15 others this morning, a security official said.
The air assaults also wiped out five militant hideouts in the area where military has launched an offensive Khyber-1 to flush out the al-Qaeda linked militants.
In a separate operation late yesterday, security forces killed at least 11 militants in similar strikes in the same region.

Military jets heavily pounded militant positions through aerial strikes in Tirah valley in Khyber, one of seven tribal districts, where al-Qaeda linked militants are said to be active.
"In precise aerial strikes, 11 terrorists were killed in Tirah, Khyber Agency, on evening of 9 December," Military said in a statement today.

The attacks came after a briefing by the military to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that forces have cleared vast areas in North Waziristan region and it was ready to resettle about one million people displaced by the operation which was launched in June.
Khyber is a key district as a major road leading to Afghanistan passes through it.

Following reports that the militants fleeing North Waziristan were finding refuge in Khyber, army launched a separate operation in October.
So far, more than 1,300 militants have been killed in the North Waziristan and Khyber offensives.
Khyber is a stronghold of Lashkar-e-Islam rebel group which is an ally of Taliban.