MIRANSHAH: Pakistani helicopter gunships and artillery pounded militant hideouts in a tribal region near the Afghan border, killing up to 40 insurgents, the army said Wednesday.

"We have reports from local sources that 30 to 40 miscreants have been killed in a security forces operation targeting a hideout in South Waziristan," GEO TV channel quoted Director General ISPR Major General Waheed Arshad as saying

He said that the operation involving US-built Cobra gunships began late Tuesday and fighting was ongoing.

"The ground troops have started reaching the area for mopping-up operations once the firing ends," Arshad added.

He said the area where the operation took place, known as Punj Ziarat, was on the border between the troubled tribal zones of South and North Waziristan, where US officials have said that Al-Qaeda is regrouping.

Militants in Punj Ziarat had mounted several attacks on security force convoys passing through the region.

"The miscreants were occupying mountaintops. We used artillery and Cobra gunship helicopters to dislodge them," Arshad added.

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