Al Qaeda and Taliban militants use the tribal district as a launching pad for attacks on foreign troops in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Separately, helicopter gunships pounded the positions of Islamic militants in Khyber tribal district, killing 10 fighters.

The security action is the part of a week-long offensive that was launched after a suicide bomber killed 22 security personnel.

Five militant hideouts and one training centre were also destroyed in the assault Monday in the remote Tirah valley of the district, according to a press statement issued by the paramilitary Frontier Corps.

The target of the operation is a pro-Taliban militant group Lashkar-e-Islam, which is believed to be involved in several attacks on security forces, civilian killings and kidnappings for ransom.

More than 130 Islamic militants have been killed in the fighting so far, according to the government claims.