Pakistan border blitz kills 45

A Pakistani intelligence source confirmed that women and children had perished in the attacks, which targeted villages in the Teerah Valley in the Khyber region.

Islamist guerillas with links to the Taliban are said to have found sanctuary in the area.

Due to strict Pakistani military control over media access, there was no independent confirmation of the casualty figures.

Pakistan's army has been fighting guerillas across the semi-autonomous north-west tribal areas for over two years.

Militants who fled major operations in South Waziristan and Orakzai tribal regions are believed to have set up new bases in Khyber, north-west of Peshawar.

In April, Pakistan's US-backed military pounded the Teerah Valley with air strikes that killed about 60 civilians.

The Pakistani army, which initially described the victims as insurgents, ended up paying compensation to their families and its chief issued a rare public apology.

Despite the unfolding humanitarian crisis caused by the floods, the US is pressing Islamabad to continue prosecuting the "war on terror" in the country's underdeveloped tribal regions.