Pakistan air strike kills 27 militants

By Alamgir Bitani

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani aircraft launched a strike on Saturday that killed 27 Taliban militants including "would-be suicide bombers" in a northwestern tribal region, a paramilitary spokesman said.

The raid on militant hideouts in Orakzai tribal region came two days after a suicide bomber detonated a car loaded with explosives at a tribal council meeting, killing more than 100 people according to television networks.

The meeting had been attended by around 500 tribesmen, the networks said.

A spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps said 12 among those killed in the air strike on Sunday were would-be suicide bombers.

"The combat aviation strike killed 27 miscreants, including two important militant commanders," he said in a statement.

Government and intelligence officials in the region said at least three militant hideouts were destroyed.

Residents said 15 civilians were also wounded in the strike.

The suicide attack in the tribal council took place when tribesmen were planning to raise a lashkar or tribal militia to evict militants from the region.