PESHAWAR, Pakistan – The Pakistani military said its jets killed 35 militants in a restive region on the border with Afghanistan on Wednesday as part of a broad anti-militant offensive that has displaced more than 800,000 people. Hours later, 20 suspected al-Qaeda-linked fighters died in a U.S. drone attack in a nearby village, Pakistani security officials said.
"The drone had fired missiles and hit two separate hideouts of the militants in Zwe Saidgai village in the town of Dattakhel. However, our own jets targeted a group of militants while trying to escape from North Waziristan via Shawal valley close to Dattakhel and killed 35 militants," said a senior military official who asked to remain nameless because he is not authorized to speak to the press. Those killed in the Pakistani air strikes included members of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TPP) – a coalition of militant groups – as well as foreign fighters from Uzbekistan, Chechnya and across the Arab world, he added.
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