Islamabad, March 26 (RHC)-- At least thirty pro-Taliban militants have been killed when Pakistani air force military aircraft carried out operations in a northwestern tribal region near the border with Afghanistan.

According to a statement released by the Pakistani Army’s Directorate of Inter-Services Public Relations, the airborne attacks, which also destroyed two arms and ammunition depots, were conducted in Tirah Valley of Khyber tribal region on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, at least eight suspected militants were killed in a separate military operation in Orakzai tribal region on Wednesday.

The militants were killed after an improvised explosive device (IED) blast triggered a gunfight between the terrorists and security forces in Sabak area of the region.

The Pakistani army started an operation against militant hideouts in North Waziristan last June, after a deadly raid on the

Karachi International Airport ended the government’s faltering peace talks with the pro-Taliban militants.

The semi-autonomous tribal regions on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan have been a hideout for Takfiri militant groups, including al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban, during the past years.