Officials say Pakistani strikes kill 96 militants
PARACHINAR, Pakistan — Pakistani airstrikes killed nearly 100 suspected militants in two northwest tribal regions Saturday, an apparent intensification of efforts by the army to mop up Taliban fighters fleeing a military operation farther south.
The strikes were carried out in the Orakzai and Khyber tribal regions.
In Orakzai, some 54 alleged militants were killed during ongoing clashes over a checkpoint in the Baizoti town area, local official Samiullah Khan told The Associated Press.
Another 42 people, most of them suspected insurgents, died in the Khyber tribal region when military jets pounded a hide-out the in Sra Walla area. The location was believed to be a gathering point for the Lashker-e-Islam insurgent group.
Two intelligence officials said jets pounded the area twice — once when local tribesmen were retrieving bodies from the rubble. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media on the record.
Local government official Rehan Khattak confirmed the strikes but refused to give a death toll.
The information could not be independently verified because access to the tribal areas is largely restricted.
The U.S. has endorsed Pakistan's efforts to eliminate militants using its tribal areas to wage attacks against Islamabad as well as Western troops across the border in Afghanistan.
Pakistan began an operation in Orakzai in mid-March and so far about 350 militants have been killed there. Nearby Kurram tribal area has also witnessed fighting, while there have long been on and off operations against militants in Khyber.
All three regions are believed to have become key destinations for Pakistani Taliban militants fleeing an army offensive against their network in the South Waziristan tribal area.
Associated Press writers Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan and Riaz Khan in Peshawar contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
According to officials, almost a hundred people suspected to be insurgents were killed in northwestern Pakistan early on Saturday by air strikes conducted by the military.

The strikes were made in tribal areas in the Orazkai and Khyber regions, located close to the Afghan border.

The reports say that in Orakzai, 54 people alleged to have been rebels were killed during an ongoing conflict at a checkpoint near the town of Baizoti. A further 42, suspected of being insurgents, were killed after military aircraft bombed a location believed to be a gathering place for members of the Lashkar-e-Islam rebel group, according to a local official speaking to the Associated Press.

"At least 42 militants of Lashkar-e-Islam were killed and two militant hideouts were also destroyed. The death toll may rise as dozens of others were also injured in the airstrike," commented Khyber administration chief Shafeerullah Wazir.

An unnamed official for the military also confirmed the air raids occurred, saying to the Agence France-Presse news agency that "the air strike was launched on a tip-off that a meeting of the Lashkar-e-Islam group was going on in Tirah."