ISLAMABAD, Aug. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Pakistan's fighter planes Saturday bombed hideouts of the al-Qaida suspects and their local supporters in the country's western tribal region near the Afghan border.

    The News Network International (NNI), a private news agency, reported that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) planes dropped bombs inseveral mountainous areas in South Waziristan agency, where the authorities say some 500 to 600 foreign militants are hiding.

    No report on casualties could be reached so far.

    Foreign militants have long been hiding in the tribal belt since the fall of Taliban regime in the neighboring Afghanistan.

    Pakistan has claimed that it deployed over 70,000 troops along the 2,500-km border to stop the terrorists' infiltration.

    The army launched a major crackdown in South Waziristan this March, in a bid to flush out foreign elements, leaving more than 100 people killed from both sides. Enditem