Pakistani warplanes and helicopters have attacked Taliban positions in the country's northwest, killing at least six suspected militants and wounding several others.

Security officials say the airstikes Sunday targeted several locations in the North Waziristan region.

Also, Pakistani sources say a close aide of Maulana Fazlullah, the Taliban's commander in Pakistan's Swat valley, has been killed during a separate combat operation.

Pakistan's military has been fighting Taliban militants in the northwestern Swat valley for more than two months.  It is now targeting Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and his network, based in South Waziristan along the Afghan border. 

Islamabad deployed soldiers there to stop insurgents from fleeing into Pakistan after a major U.S. offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, which borders Pakistan.
 
Mehsud is blamed for scores of attacks against government and civilian targets, and is believed to be a key facilitator for al-Qaida fighters in Pakistan.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP.