PESHAWAR: At least four suspected militants were killed in military air strikes in the Rajgal areas of Khyber Agency’s Tirah Valley close to the Pak-Afghan border on Tueday.

“Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jets struck hideouts of the militants in Tirah valley,” said a security source.Six other militants were injured in the air strikes, the source added.

Khyber Agency and North Waziristan are among Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal districts near the Afghan border, rife with homegrown insurgents and foreign militants.

The tribal area is off limits to journalists, making it difficult to verify the identity and the number of dead. These areas have also been considered home to religious extremist organisations including Al Qaeda and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Military operations Zarb-i-Azb and the National Action Plan were launched against insurgents following attacks on Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport and Peshawar’s Army Public School in 2014.

Officials say nearly 3,400 militants have been killed since the launch of the latest offensive.

The number of attacks in Pakistan has fallen around 70 per cent this year, due to a combination of a military offensive against Taliban bases along the Afghan border and government initiatives to tackle militancy.