Pakistani military fighter jets have pounded militant positions in Pakistan’s rugged northwestern tribal region close to the border with Afghanistan, killing at least 44 militants.

According to a statement released by the Pakistani Army, the airstrikes were carried out in two separate militancy-riddled regions across the country’s troubled northwest on Saturday.

At least 28 militants were killed during the aerial bombardment in Khyber district’s Tirah Valley, while a series of airstrikes resulted in the deaths of 16 militants in North Waziristan tribal district, the statement added.

Sources say Pakistan Air Force jets also destroyed militants’ hideouts and ammunition depots across the troubled areas.

The Pakistani army started an operation against militant hideouts in North Waziristan last June after a deadly raid on the Karachi International Airport ended the government’s faltering peace talks with the pro-Taliban militants.

The military says it has killed more than 1,200 militants since launching the operation.