Pakistani warplanes pound militant hideouts, kills 20 Taliban

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Pakistani warplanes pounded militant hideouts in the northwestern tribal area before dawn on Wednesday, killing at least 20 Taliban insurgents, security officials said.

The jets targeted hideouts in the tribal Orakzai district and at least four compounds were hit, they said, in the latest surge of fighting between government security forces and Islamist militants in the Afghan border areas.

"At least 20 Taliban militants were killed in the bombing," a military official in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar said.

Local intelligence officials confirmed the air strikes.

The hideouts belonged to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commanders Mulla Tufan and Commander Moheyuddin, a security official said. There are reports that Moheyuddin may have been killed in the bombing, he said.

A military official in Peshawar said "four hideouts have been destroyed and the death toll may go up".