Pak forces kill 13 militants in Khyber agency

Pakistani security forces today killed at least 13 militants, including a key rebel commander, in airstrikes in the restive Khyber region near the Afghan border, where a military campaign against the Taliban is on.
The forces targeted militants' hideouts in Akakhel and Tirah areas of the troubled Khyber Agency, home to religious extremist organisations including the Al-Qaeda.
Ten militants hideouts and an ammunition depot were also destroyed, according to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.
Those killed included a key militant commander and two suicide bombers, the Dawn reported citing the ISPR statement.
The report, however, did not say anything about the identity of the commander.

The airstrikes were part of the ongoing Khyber-I operation launched in the district last month against militant groups including the Lashkar-i-Islam in Tirah valley and Bara Tehsil.

The operation was launched amidst Zarb-i-Azb, a full-fledged military campaign being conducted by the army against Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and other militants in the North Waziristan tribal region.
Scores of families have been moved to safer places as the military offensive has intensified.
The army says it has killed more than 1,100 militants and lost around 100 soldiers since the start of the operation in June.
Khyber is among Pakistan's seven semi-autonomous tribal districts near the Afghan border, rife with homegrown insurgents and foreign militants.

The plains of Bara hold strategic significance for militant groups as they connect the agency to the outskirts of Peshawar.
The key area also straddles the NATO supply line into Afghanistan.