Ground offensive begins: Army troops roll into Shawal Valley

Many militants in the region are believed to have fled to rugged mountainous regions in other parts of North Waziristan to escape government strikes.

According to DG ISPR, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif has directed for accomplishment of military objectives as soon as possible.

A Pakistani F-16 fighter jet performs in-flight maneuvers.

More than 160 fighters have been killed in five consecutive days of strikes by the army, which followed the killing of a provincial official in the northeastern Punjab province in a suicide attack on Sunday.

Since May, the military has stepped up operations in the deeply forested ravines of the Shawal Valley – which straddles North and South Waziristan agencies along the border with Afghanistan – and softened militant targets in the valley through continued airstrikes.

North Waziristan used to be the Pakistani Taliban’s last key stronghold until the start of the operation.

Security officials say that almost 2,900 militants have so far been killed and over 90 percent areas cleared of the militants.

Since last June, a similar operation has been ongoing in adjoining North Waziristan, in which over 3,000 suspected Taliban militants, and over 350 soldiers, have been killed in airstrikes, clashes and landmine blasts.