Pakistani jets kill 16 militants: official

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani fighter planes bombed Taliban positions in the northwest on Sunday, killing 16 militants and destroying three hideouts, a government official said.

Militants have gone on the offensive again after a recent lull in violence, challenging government assertions that an assault in the militant stronghold of South Waziristan had dealt a major blow to Pakistan's al Qaeda-backed Taliban.

The airstrikes came after a week of bombings which killed 81 people, including soldiers, policemen and aid workers in the northwest and eastern regions of Pakistan.

Khaista Akbar, a government official, told Reuters the fighter jets carried out the strikes in the Ghund Mela village of Orakzai, an ethnic Pashtun tribal region.

"They carried out intense bombings and precisely targeted militant hideouts," he said.

The bombing killed 16 militants and completely destroyed three hideouts, he said.

The Pakistani Taliban have attacked many targets, including a volleyball match and army headquarters in the town of Rawalpindi, close to the capital, Islamabad.

(Reporting by Hasan Mehmood; writing by Kamran Haider; editing by Michael Georgy and Philippa Fletcher)