The Pakistani Air Force struck 11 Taliban camps in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of Arakzai. The military claimed 20 Taliban fighters were killed in the strikes.

The aircraft hit Taliban camps under the command of Hakeemullah Mehsud, the new leader of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan.

The camps are located in the Chappri Ferozekhel, Utmankhel, Said Khalil, Anjani, and Saultanzai areas. The military said the camps suffered heavy damage during the strikes, Dawn reported.

The military has conducted punitive strikes against the Arakzai Taliban over the past several months. In April, Pakistani Air Force attack aircraft and artillery targeted four Taliban bases in Ghiljo. The military claimed that 15 Taliban fighters were killed and the four bases were destroyed in the attack.

In early April, the US tried to kill Hakeemullah by means of a Predator airstrike on a camp in Arakzai. The US targeted a meeting being held by senior lieutenants of former Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. Four al Qaeda fighters were killed in that strike, including Qaqa, a deputy to an al Qaeda commander.

The Arakzai Predator strike was the first in that tribal agency; previous attacks have targeted Taliban and al Qaeda camps and safe houses in North and South Waziristan, Bajaur, Kurram, and Hangu.

Earlier today the Pakistani Air Force and Army attack helicopters struck at bases belonging to the Lashkar-e-Islam, a Taliban group based in the Tirah Valley in Khyber. The military claimed 63 Lashkar-e-Islam fighters were killed and several bases and hideouts were destroyed.

Map of the Arakzai region: