PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Pakistani air strikes on Tuesday targeted Taliban hideouts in the western region of the country, killing several suspected militants, local media reported.

The attack took place in Mamuzai along the Afghan border in Pakistan's northwestern Orakzai region, Dawn News reported, adding that the operation was still underway.

According to reports up to 17 suspected members of the Taliban had been killed during the operation, which also destroyed five militant hideouts, with additional hideouts currently being targeted.

The air strikes - carried out by Pakistani warplanes - come only one day after local media said government officials would launch an offensive in the North Waziristan region.

North Waziristan forms part of Pakistan's volatile Afghan border, which the United States considers to be the most dangerous place on Earth. It is known to be a stronghold of the Taliban's Haqqani Network, considered one of the top terrorist organizations and threats to U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

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