Security forces, backed by helicopter gunships, attacked two militant hideouts near the border with Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing at least 10 militants, the military said. The pre-dawn offensive in Degan area, some 25 km (17 miles) west of North Waziristan's main town of Miranshah, destroyed the fortress-like compounds used by pro-Taliban militants, Major General Waheed Arshad told Reuters.
"Local sources have told us that at least 10 local militants have been killed and seven have been wounded," Arshad said.
An intelligence official in Miranshah said they had reports that 27 militants had been killed.
"As soon as firing began we ran out and during that a bomb hit our house," Attaullah Jan, one of the wounded, said from a hospital bed. Security forces have arrested 14 suspected al Qaeda-linked militants, including Uzbeks and Tajiks, trying to sneak into Balochistan from the South Waziristan tribal region, intelligence officials said.