50 militants, mostly Uzbeks, killed in Pak air strikes

At least 50 militants, mostly Uzbeks and the mastermind of the deadly attack on the Karachi airport, were killed today when Pakistani fighter jets struck their hideouts in troubled North Waziristan tribal region.
The jets bombed hideouts of Uzbek militants in Degan and Datta Khel areas of North Waziristan in the early hours, reducing them to rubble.
In a statement, the army said that there were confirmed reports of presence of foreign and local terrorists in these hideouts who were linked to Karachi airport attack.
"Over 50 terrorists, mostly Uzbek foreigners, are killed in the strikes. An ammunition dump has also been destroyed," the statement said.

Citing military sources, the Dawn reported that the suspected mastermind of attack on the Jinnah International airport in Karachi last Sunday had been killed during the raid.
Some media reports said the number of militants killed could be over 100, although this could not be verified.

Express Tribune reported that the bombing is feared to have caused civilian casualties as well, including women and children.
More details about the attack are still coming.
The air strikes come a week after 10 Uzbek militants attacked the Jinnah International Airport, resulting in a bloody standoff lasting for about 13 hours that left 37 people dead including 10 terrorists.

Pressure has been mounting on Pakistan to react after the airport attack.
At least 25 militants were killed Tuesday when Pakistani jets pounded targets in the northwestern tribal region.
The US also carried out two drone strikes in North Waziristan the same day in which 16 militants perished, including 10 from the dreaded Haqqani network.
This was the first time the controversial CIA drone strikes were launched this year.