Pakistan’s military said on Wednesday it had killed 11 militants in air strikes in a troubled tribal district near the Afghan border.

Pakistan's military said on Wednesday it had killed 11 militants in air strikes in a troubled tribal district near the Afghan border.

The raids took place Tuesday evening in Tirah area of Khyber district where the Taliban and another banned militant group the Lashkar-e-Islam have taken refuge, the military said in a statement.

Pakistan has been battling extremist groups in its semi-autonomous tribal belt since 2004 after its army entered the region to search for Al-Qaeda fighters who had fled across the border following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

In June the army began an offensive against militant hideouts in the North Waziristan tribal agency after a bloody raid on Karachi Airport ended faltering peace talks between the government and the Taliban.

North Waziristan is a major base for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (Pakistani Taliban) as well as the Haqqani network which targets US and NATO foreign troops across the border.