Pakistani helicopter gunships and fighter jets pounded militant
hide-outs in the country's northwest Saturday, killing at least 12
militants.
Security officials say the airstrikes targeted three
suspected militant positions in Orakzai region, where a military
transport helicopter crashed the day before, killing at least 26
military personnel.
Pakistani officials say the helicopter
crashed Friday outside the city of Peshawar due to a technical
failure. But the Taliban claims it shot down the aircraft.
Elsewhere
in the northwest, clashes between a pro-government tribal militia and
militants killed at least 12 people late Friday in the remote Mohmand
region, along the Afghan border.
Pakistan's military has been
fighting Taliban militants throughout the country's northwest for more
than two months. Security officials also are on high alert following
the launch this week of a major U.S. offensive against Taliban
militants in neighboring Afghanistan.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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