PESHAWAR - At least 13 Taliban militants were killed on Sunday when the security forces gunship helicopters targeted their suspected hideouts in different areas of Orakzai Agency, officials disclosed. The gunship helicopters hit militants hideouts in Leera, Anjani, Daboori, Khalil Baba, Ghaljo and Mamozai areas. The officials said that several militants had been killed as a result of the incident. However, the local tribesmen said that a number of civilians were also among the killed and injured persons. Meanwhile, due to frequent clashes between militants and security forces in Orakzai Agency, a large number of tribesmen are abandoning their houses and migrating to other comparatively peaceful areas of Hangu and Kohat. Reuters/AFP add: Aircraft bombed militants on Sunday in the Orakzai ethnic Pashtun region. Government forces attacked a group of militants in Orakzai who were preparing to travel to the South Waziristan region on the Afghan border to fight the Army there, security officials said. Government fighter aircraft bombed militant hideouts in several strikes on three villages over the course of several hours, said Yaseen Khan, a senior government official in the regions main town of Ghaljo. We have seven confirmed dead but there must be a bigger number of casualties as these were very precise and accurate strikes, Khan told Reuters. A Taliban spokesman in the region, Maulvi Haider, said 13 of his men had been killed and he vowed revenge. Well hit back and our target could be anywhere in Pakistan, Haider said by telephone. Residents said the aircraft had struck a madrassa, which was being used by the militants.