Dozens of Pakistani civilians were killed during a military operation in the Pashtun region of the North Waziristan. the mountainous region between Pakistan and Afghanistan according to residents of the area.

The operation that began last week after a Wednesday suicide bomb attack at a checkpoint in the region that is a stronghold of al qaeda linked Taliban militants. The residents in the area had expected that the Pakistani military would launch a major operation in the area since peace talks have continued to fail in recent months. I was widely believed that the expected operation only waited for an incident to start the fuse.

The Pakistan military report that at least 23 militants were killed in clashes with the military in the Mir Ali region of North Waziristan after the suicide bomb attack.

During the operation, residents report that at least 70 civilians have been killed by gunships,mortors and artillery as well as direct contact with the military. Those directly shot by soldiers included truck drivers and shop and hotel keepers. Curfews have been set in the region and many of the residents have fled their homes since the conflict started on Wednesday.

The Taliban, on Monday, have promised full scale counter-attacks if the killing of civilians does not stop.

According to reports from residents fleeing the area, many of the bodies of their neighbors and family were just left in the streets by the fleeing residents hastily fleeing the area.

Reports coming out of the region are sketchy and largely unverified because journalists and observers are nt allowed into the region.