Pakistan's military have launched air strikes against
suspected militant hideouts in the north-west, killing at least 15 people,
officials say.
Fighter jets bombed targets in the North Waziristan tribal
area on Tuesday, officials said.Fighting was also reported in South Waziristan.
Talks between Pakistani government and Taliban militant
negotiators broke down last week, after a Taliban-linked group said they killed
23 soldiers.
"The militants had captured a stretch between South
Waziristan and North Waziristan and had established training centres where they
were also preparing suicide bombers," a military official, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
The latest attacks primarily took place in the Shawal valley
and Dattakhel areas of North Waziristan, Reuters news agency added.
Last week, government negotiators suspended a planned
meeting with Taliban negotiators after militants based in the Mohmand tribal
area said they had killed 23 soldiers who had been abducted and held since
2010.
Those killings, and other violence in the past weeks, also
triggered air strikes on suspected militant hideouts last Thursday.
Pakistani jets also carried out strikes on suspected
militant hideouts in North Waziristan last month, following a wave of attacks
against security forces.
