Pakistani jets launched strikes on Taliban hideouts in the northwest on Thursday, killing over 30 people according to security sources, in retaliation for attacks by the militants which have derailed peace talks.

Pakistani jets launched strikes on Taliban hideouts in the northwest on Thursday, killing  over 30 people according to security sources, in retaliation for attacks by the militants which have derailed peace talks.

The first raid confirmed by security officials came early Thursday when jets bombed several locations including a compound in the town of Mir Ali and surrounding parts of the North Waziristan tribal district.

"There are confirmed reports of 15 militants including foreigners killed in these airstrikes," a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

A second strike targeted militants hiding in the Khyber tribal district who are suspected of bombing a cinema in Peshawar last week and killing an army major on Tuesday, a second security official said.

The twin strikes and spiralling violence cast further doubt on a troubled peace process between the government and the insurgents just three weeks after talks began.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) had offered a ceasefire on Wednesday on condition that government forces stopped killing and arresting their members.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced the start of talks on January 29 to "give peace another chance" following a seven-year Taliban insurgency that has claimed nearly 7,000 lives.

But a source in his office said Sharif, under pressure to avenge the Taliban killing spree, "issued orders to launch the airstrikes" after being briefed by military advisers.

After several rounds of talks, government mediators pulled out of scheduled dialogue with their Taliban counterparts on Monday amid outrage over the claimed execution of 23 kidnapped soldiers.