Pakistan makes airstrikes on suspected militant hideouts; 30 reportedly killed
The Pakistani military on Tuesday continued its deadly campaign of airstrikes against alleged militant hideouts in the country's northwest, a week after the government's peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban broke down.
The series of recent bombing raids in a region considered a stronghold for extremist groups has killed scores of people and raised the question of whether a broader offensive is afoot.
"Reportedly, 30 terrorists were killed in early morning airstrikes on militants' hideouts," the military said in a statement Tuesday.
The strikes were carried out in the Shawal Valley, which lies between North and South Waziristan, loosely governed tribal areas that border Afghanistan. They also targeted the village of Ghariom in North Waziristan, the military said.
The strikes demolished some hideouts, military officials said.
The area is dangerous and hard for journalists to reach, making it difficult to independently verify the military's account.
On February 19, the military carried out airstrikes in tribal areas that it said killed 15 people in North Waziristan and seven people in Khyber agency, another tribal area. "Foreign fighters" were among those killed, it said.
More airstrikes took place in the northwest over the weekend, targeting militants in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and the tribal areas. The military said the weekend strikes killed 38 people.
Residents in North Waziristan on Tuesday said families have been fleeing the area since the talks between the government and the Taliban broke down and the airstrikes intensified.
The residents estimated that 100 families were leaving the area to escape the violence, heading to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and other urban areas.
The Pakistani government said last week it had indefinitely suspended peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban.
The talks, between Taliban intermediaries and a government-appointed committee, lasted for about 13 days. But the militant group carried out several deadly attacks targeting security forces and civilians during that time, including the execution of 23 abducted members of Pakistan's Frontier Corps, prompting the government to halt the negotiations.
The military has stepped up its attacks on militant groups since then.
A senior Pakistani government official on Tuesday told CNN's Jim Sciutto that the military was engaged in an offensive to try to push the Haqqani network, an insurgent force affiliated with the Taliban and al Qaeda, out of Pakistan and across the border into Afghanistan.
