Airstrikes kill 15 militants in northwest Pakistan - officials

KALAYA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani military jets struck militant hideouts in the northwest of the country on Sunday, killing 15 militants and wounding several others, military officials said.

The airstrikes targeted four hideouts in the remote Ghaljo and Dabori areas of the northwestern Orakzai tribal region, the officials said. The locations were being used by members of the Pakistan Taliban.

The death toll could not be independently verified and militants often dispute official figures.

The Pakistan military has been conducting operations against militants in Orakzai for months.

Several militant groups are active in Pakistan's northwestern semi-autonomous tribal regions, near the border with Afghanistan, including the Pakistan Taliban, responsible for many of the bombings across the country in recent years.

(Reporting by Hasan Mehmood in KALAYA, Saud Mehsud in DERA ISMAIL KHAN, and Jibran Ahmad in PESHAWAR; Writing by Qasim Nauman; Editing by Ron Popeski)