Pakistani Airstrikes Near Afghan Border Kill 30 Militants

Authorities in Pakistan say military jets pounded suspected terrorist hideouts near the Afghan border Wednesday, killing at least 30 militants.

An army statement says that "two arms and ammunition dumps" were also destroyed in the air strikes in a remote part of the insurgency-hit Khyber tribal district.

Meanwhile, suspected U.S. drone strikes early Wednesday in northeastern Afghanistan are reported to have killed at least 20 fighters of the outlawed Pakistani Taliban who have allegedly set up bases on the Afghan side of the border. Several senior commanders are among those killed. Earlier a drone attack in the same area on Tuesday killed nine Pakistani insurgents.

Both drone strikes happened in the Afghan border province of Kunar. The area is adjacent to Pakistan's Khyber's Tirah Valley where where Pakistan's military says its forces have killed nearly 150 militants within the past week.

The Pakistani Taliban has been waging a deadly insurgency against the state to try to impose its strict version of Islam.

The counter-insurgency operations on both sides of the border are taking place amid warming relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. For years, Islamabad and Kabul have accused each other of harboring insurgents to act as proxies. (VOA)