22 killed in army operation in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - At least 22 militants were killed and 28 others injured in an operation launched Thursday by the Pakistani army in the country's northwestern tribal area of Orakzai, reported local media.

Local government-run TV channel PTV quoted military sources as saying that four militants' hideouts were also destroyed by the army with the backup of jet fighters in the operation launched on early Thursday morning in the upper part of Orakzai.

The militants killed in the operation included one Pakistan Taliban commander named Mullah Toofan who was believed to be involved in various attacks at the Pakistani army in the past.

Orakzai is the only tribal area out of the seven in Pakistan that does not share the border with Afghanistan. Since last August, the Pakistani army has launched a series of operations in Orakzai, driving most of the militants active in the area to its western corners that border on Kurram Agency, another tribal area bordering Afghanistan, according to the local media.