Fighter jets hit militants in Pakistan's Waziristan

By Hafiz Wazir

WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani warplanes resumed strikes against militant hideouts in South Waziristan on Saturday, security officials said, with more than 30 insurgents killed in the Afghan border tribal region in the past 24 hours.

After securing much of the scenic Swat Valley in the past month, the military plans to extend its offensive with operations in South Waziristan against the main stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, a key al Qaeda ally.

The operations came after Taliban gains in the region raised fears for the future of nuclear-armed Pakistan, a vital ally for the United States as it strives to defeat al Qaeda and stabilise neighbouring Afghanistan.

A full-scale offensive has not yet begun in South Waziristan but fighter jets have been softening up targets for the past several days.

"Our jet fighters bombed and destroyed two militant hideouts in Maula Khan Sarai," a security official in the region said, referring to a militant-held area east of South Waziristan's main town of Wana.

He gave no other details but an intelligence official said 15 militants were killed in those strikes.

On Friday, jet fighters killed more than 30 militants in attacks in the South Waziristan villages of Barwand, Sarwaki and Kundsari, said security officials who asked not be identified.

The military was not available for comment on those incidents and there was no independent verification of the casualties.