Pakistani jets pounded alleged terrorist hideouts in North Waziristan early yesterday, killing dozens of people.

It was an aggressive response targeting those believed responsible for the five-hour siege of Karachi airport a week ago.

The Pakistani government has been under pressure after the attack on June 8, which left 36 people including 10 assailants dead.

Months-long government efforts to negotiate with rebels appear to be going nowhere, and the airport raid made talks even less likely to succeed.

There were conflicting accounts of how many people were killed in the airstrikes in the tribal area bordering Afghanistan.

The military said that more than 50 militants had been killed but intelligence officials put the toll as high as 100.

“There were confirmed reports of presence of foreign and local terrorists in these hideouts who were linked to the Karachi airport attack,” the military insisted, claiming that most of the dead were Uzbeks. 

Uzbek militants have long based themselves in Pakistan’s tribal areas as do a plethora of other armed groups such as al-Qaida, the Pakistani Taliban and the Haqqani network.

The airstrikes targeted eight militant hideouts, intelligence officials said.

One of those killed was named as Abu Abdul Rehman al-Maani, who was believed to have orchestrated the airport siege.

Yesterday’s airstrikes were the second in the north-west this week.

On Tuesday, Pakistani jets hit nine targets in the Tirah Valley, where the military said 25 suspected militants were killed.

Missiles from US drones also hit North Waziristan last week, killing at least 13 people.