KARACHI, Pakistan 

Pakistan on Sunday claimed to have killed five suspected militants in two separate operations in the northwest.

The security operations – latest in the ongoing onslaught against militants said to be trying to regroup – were conducted in Mir Ali and Khaisur areas of North Waziristan, according to an army statement.

The slain militants, which included two commanders, belonged to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella of militant groups, it added.

Syed Raheem and Saifullah Noor, the press release said, were involved in dozens of attacks on security forces, suicide bombings, recruiting new terrorists, and IED blasts since 2007.

North Waziristan is one of seven former semi-autonomous tribal regions in Pakistan where the army has conducted a series of operations since 2014 to eliminate the terrorists. The areas were recently been given the status of districts, and merged with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province./aa