Pakistan Air Strikes Kill 31 Militants in Tribal Areas

Pakistan's military on Wednesday said it had killed at least 31 militants in air strikes in northwest Pakistan, near the Afghan border.

It said in a brief statement that militant hideouts were targeted in the Kyber and Shawal tribal districts, with 14 "terrorists" killed in Khyber and 17 killed in Shawal.

The death toll could not be independently verified as the conflict zone is remote and off-limits to journalists.

Pakistan has been battling a homegrown Islamist insurgency for over a decade.

Officials say more than 2,800 militants have been killed since the launch of the latest offensive.

Pakistan has intensified air strikes and ground attacks, as well as raids on militant hideouts, since December, when a Taliban attack on a school left more than 150 people dead, mostly schoolchildren. 

Authorities have claimed major successes in the offensive, and say they have broken the backbone of the militants. Yet scattered attacks still take place in the country, though they are fewer in number and of a lesser intensity than in previous years.