At least 13 militants were killed as Pakistani fighter jets bombed their positions in the troubled Bajaur tribal region Sunday, state-run PTV reported.
Fighter planes and artillery shelled hideouts of Taliban-linked militants in Dama Dola, Mamoond and Kharkey, all strongholds of local Taliban, PTV reported.
Several important hideouts of the militants were also destroyed during the offensive.
The security forces also claimed to have killed 15 militants Saturday.
The Pakistan army has claimed that it has killed over 1,000 militants since it launched an operation in the region in late August.
Nearly 300,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in Bajaur and many of them are now living in refugee camps in the country's North West Frontier Province.
Officials said that fresh contingent of troops arrived in Bajaur Sunday to intensify the offensive against the militants.
According to other reports, in the restive region of Swat in the northwest, mortar shells fired by the security forces against the militants landed on houses of civilians, killing six people.
The houses were hit as the security forces and Taliban militants exchanged heavy fire, a police officer was quoted as saying.
Tribal elders have called upon the government to step up offensives to eliminate militants from Bajaur.
A suicide bomber struck a jirga or council of elders on Nov. 6 which killed over 20 elders.
A jirga of the main Salarzai tribe was underway to launch a campaign against the local militants when the incident happened, according to witnesses.
The Salarzai tribe is one of the major tribes in Bajaur, who were the first to form tribal "lashkar" or militia to fight against the local Taliban.
The government has hailed tribal "lashkars" and announced support to the tribesmen, but the opposition groups have warned that such actions would lead to a civil war.
Source:Xinhua
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