PESHAWAR (Pakistan) - PAKISTANI forces have killed dozens more suspected militants in tribal areas, officials said on Monday, after the government announced a new assault against Taleban along the Afghan border.

Jet planes and helicopter gunships bombarded militant hideouts in the tribal agencies of Bajaur and Mohmand on Sunday, as the military opened up a second front in the seven-week offensive in the insurgency-hit northwest.

Security officials in the region said that about 30 militants were killed in Mohmand agency, close to the provincial capital Peshawar.

Another security official based in Peshawar said the toll was slightly lower: 'Air strikes and shelling by gunships killed 29 militants while 25 were wounded in Safi town of Mohmand tribal district.' Similar action on Sunday hit the agency of Bajaur just north of Mohmand.

'Eight militants including their commander were killed while a madrassa used by militants and one hideout were destroyed,' said a security official based in Bajaur's main town of Khar.

Residents in Bajaur's Charmang town, meanwhile, said paramilitary forces were announcing another assault and urging people to avoid security vehicles. Ground forces in and around Charmang were seen clearing the roads on Monday near the border with Afghanistan, residents said.

In the Jani Khel area in Bannu district - which borders lawless Waziristan where Washington alleges Al-Qaeda and Taleban rebels are holed up - militants fired rockets at a police station and an airport early on Monday.

'They escaped after suffering heavy losses,' said Zahin-u-ddin, a local police official. 'Seven militants were killed in the retaliatory attack.'

On Sunday, the army said it had killed 30 suspected militants in attacks in South Waziristan, and more than 1,400 Taleban rebels since its northwest offensive began in late April. These tolls are however impossible to independently verify.

Security forces launched their offensive against Taleban fighters across three northwestern districts near Swat valley on April 26, after the insurgents advanced to within 100 km of Islamabad. -- AFP