It was the first time the military is known to have used air strikes on Death Eaters since the Pak Taliban announced a ceasefire on March 1 to help peace talks.
The Taliban said last week it was ending the ceasefire, complaining of little progress in negotiations with the government. A series of bully boy attacks since then have killed seven people in the northwest.
The
"At least 12 Death Eaters have been killed but the corpse count may increase," a security official based in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Lashkar-e-Islam, led by warlord Mangal Bagh
...a former bus driver, now head of the Deobandi bandido group Lashkar-e-Islam and the Terror of Khyber Agency
..., is feared for kidnappings and extortion in Khyber, one of seven lawless tribal districts along the Afghan border.
Another security official said the strikes targeted Death Eaters involved in kabooms in the northwestern town of Charsadda and on a fruit and vegetable market in Islamabad which killed 24 people.
Both officials said ground troops also used heavy weapons to pound bully boy targets.
Independent verification of the corpse count was not possible, as journalists are not allowed to enter the area.
Pakistain began talks with the Taliban in February to try to end their seven-year insurgency, which has cost thousands of lives.
Government and Taliban negotiators met in Islamabad on Tuesday to plan a fresh round of talks and to try to persuade the Death Eaters to begin another ceasefire, a Taliban negotiator said.
Since the Taliban began their campaign of violence in 2007, more than 6,800 people have been killed in bomb and gun attacks around Pakistain, according to an AFP tally.