Pakistani army jets pounded a militant hideout in the troubled North Waziristan tribal region along the Afghan border, killing at least 22 terrorists. The overnight strikes were launched in Dattakhel area of North Waziristan tribal region where Pakistan unleashed a military operation in June last year to flush out terrorists from the area.
Twenty two militants were killed in the airstrikes, the army said in a statement.
Pakistan, which launched Zarb-e-Ab military operation in the North Waziristan, claims that most of area has been cleared of militants. It also says that more than 1,500 rebels were killed the offensive that is still going on in selective area.
Elsewhere, seven security personnel were injured when militants attacked a check post in in Lahda area of South Waziristan.
A security official that the forces killed eight militants in retaliatory firing. Azam Tariq, a Taliban spokesperson, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Hangs four death row prisoners
Pakistan on Wednesday hanged four prisoners, a day after a record 17 convicts were executed following the reversal of the country's self-imposed moratorium on the death penalty in December. All the four death row prisoners were executed in different jails of Punjab province. Rizwan and Moazzam Khan were executed in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail. Rizwan had killed six people in 2006, while Khan murdered a man in 1995. Mohammad Nazeer was hanged in Bahawalpur Central Jail for killing a man in 2001, while another convict was hanged in Sahiwal Central Jail for shooting dead a police constable in the same year. The latest executions brought to 85 the total number of convicts hanged since Pakistan resumed executions on December 17, a day after a Taliban attack on an army school in Peshawar.