- PARACHINAR: A government official says fighter jets have bombed suspected militant hide-outs in a new assault on a Pakistan tribal region where the army had previously declared victory.
- He says at least 20 people have died.
Samiullah Khan, a deputy administrator in the Orakzai tribal region, says the aerial bombings Wednesday destroyed six Taleban hide-outs in the region.
Khan says field informants confirmed the killing of 20 suspected militants.
Pakistan’s army has been bombing Orakzai for months, believing it to be a hiding place for Taliban fighters fleeing another offensive further south in the tribal belt.
It declared victory there in early June, but violence persists.