Pakistani Air-strikes kill 34 Militants in Northwest region

Pakistani air-strikes on Wednesday killed 34 militants in the lawless northwest of the country, near the mountainous border with Afghanistan, security officials said.

Fighter jets pounded positions in the Tirah Valley in the Khyber tribal region, west of the city of Peshawar, in precise strikes, the military said in a statement.

The official also said, those killed belonged to the outlawed militant group, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and an allied group, Lashkar-e-Islam.

The Taliban and Lashkar-e-Islam militant groups are based in Khyber, one of seven autonomous tribal districts along Pakistan’s western border, which became a hideout for Islamist militants following the US-led invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan in 2001.

The strikes coincided with the appointment of the country’s new air chief Sohail Aman, who will take over the charge from his predecessor Tahir Rafiq Butt on Thursday upon completion of his three-year tenure