58 suspected militants killed in northwestern Pakistan

Parachinar: The military killed 58 suspected militants in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday with a mix of airstrikes and ground combat, the latest violence in a months-long campaign to rout Taliban fighters from a mountainous area near the Afghan border.

The Pakistani military launched the ongoing offensive in the Orakzai tribal region in mid-March to flush out militants who last year fled an army offensive in nearby South Waziristan. Persistent artillery and aircraft attacks have killed hundreds of insurgents over the past two months, the military says.

Fighter jets and helicopter gunships attacked militant sanctuaries Sunday in the villages of Dabori, Gojar and Kamer Mela in Orakzai, killing 40 suspected insurgents, said Samiullah Khan, a senior government administrator in Orakzai.

Later in the day, troops attacked militant hide-outs in Koul village, triggering clashes that killed 18 suspected insurgents, said Jehanzeb Khan, a local administrator. Five soldiers and at least 25 militants were wounded in the fighting. The injured militants were taken into custody, he said.

It was impossible to independently confirm the casualties and their identities because the region is remote and dangerous and media access restricted.