ISLAMABAD: Pakistani jets bombed militants ' hideouts in a northwestern tribal district early Thursday, killing at least 35 militants a day after the insurgents offered a ceasefire to resume troubled peace talks if the army stopped targeting them.According to the sources, the aircraft bombarded suspected militant hideouts in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan as part of surgical strikes which they said should not be taken as military operation.There are confirmed reports of 35 militants including foreigners killed in these air strikes, a senior security official told, adding that the attacks focused on the town of Mir Ali and surrounding areas of North Waziristan.Sources told that the first strike killed commander Abdul Sattar when his compound was pounded by the jets followed by the series of strikes on Uzbek, Turkmen, Tajik and Taliban hideouts.The compounds of TTP commander Jihadyar and Abdul Razak were also destroyed when PAF jets bombarded and killed 15 militants.Airstrikes were carried out to target militant hideouts with precision. A huge cache of arms and ammunition have also been destroyed, "the official said.The sources told that the strikes were carried out after the military leaders took the civilian government into confidence citing potential threats to the people of Pakistan from terrorists holed up in their safe havens in the country tribal belt.Moreover, the attacks were aimed at protecting people of Pakistan as the militants were making plans to carry out terrorist attacks.They added that if the government decided to launch an operation, the PAF warplanes will attack the militants in the first phase and other steps would be taken shortly after the weather conditions improve in the mountainous region.The sources told Geo News that the recent attacks were carried out on the basis of credible intelligence information and there was no fear of collateral damage.On Wednesday, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) peace mediators said they were ready to observe a ceasefire to allow the resumption of peace talks, provided Pakistani security forces stopped killing and arresting them.Peace talks between the Taliban and the government, announced on January 29, stalled this week due to a recent surge in insurgent attacks and a claim by a Taliban faction on Sunday that it had killed 23 kidnapped soldiers.Print this story
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