Pakistani troops backed by jets and helicopter gunships have killed 40 militants in a restive tribal area bordering Afghanistan in the past three days, a military commander said Thursday.Brigadier Aftab Ahmad told AFP by telephone that his forces had destroyed 17 militant hideouts in the Baizai region under his command in the lawless tribal area of Mohmand. "Militants were regularly attacking our posts on the Afghanistan border at Shonkari and Mithai and also targeting goods vehicles going to Afghanistan," he said. Ghalanai is the main town in Mohmand, where Pakistan has recently stepped up raids on militant hideouts, as it faces American pressure to conduct a separate offensive against the Al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network in North Waziristan.