Islamabad - Jet aircraft pounded suspected Taliban positions in Pakistan's troubled north-western region on the Afghan border through the night, killing 15 militants and six civilians, officials said Monday.

The bombing raids came as the Pakistani armed forces intensified an operation in North and South Waziristan districts, a hotbed of al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

Authorities last week announced that the security forces would launch a decisive onslaught in the area to track down and eliminate Pakistan's top Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, who has been blamed for a string of terrorist attacks in the country.

Mehsud's network is accused of playing host to hardcore militants of Arab and Central Asian origin, who regularly cross the porous border to strike US and NATO forces fighting Taliban in Afghanistan.

The fresh aerial strikes began late Sunday and continued through Monday morning, as "several bunkers and ammunition dumps of the militants were destroyed," an intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.

Jets hit Taliban targets in at least six villages of the two districts, including the key towns of Razmak and Sararogha, he said.

"Preliminary reports reveal that at least 15 militants were killed," the official said, adding that "considering the firepower used, the death toll could be much higher."

According to the source, three women and three children were killed when missiles struck the house of a pro-Taliban cleric, Pir Jalaluddin, in Razmak. Jalaluddin survived the raid.

There was no official confirmation of the casualty count. Neither it could be confirmed independently because of military restrictions on journalists in the conflict areas.

However, a Taliban spokesman denied suffering "massive casualties."

"Most of those killed were civilians," Qari Hussain, a militant leader and deputy of Mehsud told German Press Agency dpa by telephone from an undisclosed location. "The government is tailoring figures to show as if it was winning (against Taliban) but all this is just propaganda."

Separately, a forest department official was killed and another wounded when troops opened fire on their vehicle after they ignored warnings to keep distance from a military convoy moving between the north-western towns of Dera Ismail Khan and Tank.

Dozens of troops have died in roadside attacks and suicide car bombings on military convoys and checkpoints in Pakistan's restive North West Frontier Province and its adjoining tribal region.

Government forces are in the midst of a full-scale offensive against Taliban fighters in the former tourist resort of Swat and its nearby districts, killing around 1,500 militants in last eight weeks.

The United States, which is heavily relying on Pakistan's counterinsurgency efforts to win its war in Afghanistan, has hailed the offensive that also has broad support locally.

But the violence has displaced more than 2.5 million people, triggering a massive humanitarian crisis. Although nearly 80 per cent of the refugees are living in hired accommodation or with relatives, relief agencies are struggling to look after the ones in camps. (dpa)