Bannu: Pakistan’s military on Sunday bombed six militant boltholes in a lawless tribal district, killing at least 28 insurgents, officials said.

The airstrikes targeted Shawal village in the troubled North Waziristan region, where militants fleeing a military offensive in other parts of the district had taken refuge.

“At least 28 local and foreign terrorists were killed in today’s airstrikes and their six hideouts were destroyed,” a senior military official said.

Local security officials confirmed the account, but it was not possible to independently verify the casualties as the offensive is ongoing and media are banned from the area.

Pakistani jets and artillery began hitting rebel targets in North Waziristan in mid-June to try to regain full control of the district and ground forces moved in on June 30.

The assault by Pakistan’s military was launched after a dramatic attack by militants on Karachi airport which killed dozens of people and marked the end of a faltering peace process with the Pakistani Taliban.

More than 400 militants and 25 soldiers have been killed in the assault so far, according to the military.

There have been fears that many top militants also fled, including fighters from the feared Haqqani network, which is blamed for numerous bloody attacks in Afghanistan.

More than 800,000 people have been forced to flee from North Waziristan by the assault, with most ending up in the nearby town of Bannu.

Meanwhile, Pakistan condemned a US drone strike in the country’s North Waziristan tribal region on Saturday which killed at least 11 people.

Security sources said the US drone fired two missiles at a compound located in Datta Khel town of North Waziristan, a restive area at Pakistan-Afghan border, early on Saturday morning.

They said the missiles fired from the drone struck a hideout of Taliban militants from Pakistan’s Punjab province when they were holding a meeting.

“The government of Pakistan condemns the incident of US drone strike that took place near Miranshah in North Waziristan during the early hours of Saturday, which led to many causalities,” the foreign ministry said.

“Pakistan regards such strikes as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” a foreign ministry statement said hours after the attack was launched at a time when Pakistani forces are involved in a major offensive against the militants in North Waziristan.

The foreign ministry said these US strikes have a negative impact on the government’s efforts to bring peace and stability in Pakistan and the region, Xinhua reported.

The US has increased drone strikes since the Pakistani forces started the major operation June 15 and the military said over 400 foreign and local militants had been killed and dozens of their hideouts destroyed.

Senior US officials said the CIA-controlled drones were targeting the militants who use Waziristan as a launching pad for their cross-border attacks into Afghanistan.

Pakistan has dispelled the impression that the recent series of drone strikes had any link with the ongoing military operation.