Several dead in shootout near Pakistan-Afghanistan border

Militants have attacked a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan, along the border with Afghanistan, triggering a shootout that left three soldiers and three militants dead, the army said.

Four militants were also wounded, the military said in a statement on Sunday.

The overnight shootout early on Saturday took place in the Miran Shah tribal area of North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, a former stronghold of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan or TTP terror group.

The Pakistani army carried out search operations to hunt down those responsible for the attack. They seized a cache of ammunition from the dead militants.

The military said it was “determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism.”

Although the army says it has cleared North Waziristan of militants, occasional attacks and shootouts continue, raising concerns that the TTP are regrouping in the area.