4 army troops, 4 militants killed in NW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

At least four Pakistani army soldiers were killed during a clash with militants in northwestern Waziristan region near the Afghan border, the military said on Friday.

The militants opened fire on military posts in Makeen area of South Waziristan late Thursday night, the military said in a statement.

Four militants were also killed during the clash.

North Waziristan and South Waziristan, once dubbed as the heartland of militancy, are among two of seven former semi-autonomous tribal regions in Pakistan where the army has conducted a series of operations since 2014 to eliminate the Pakistani Taliban.

Successive operations have pushed the group toward neighboring Afghanistan, and Islamabad claims the network has now set up bases across the border to attack Pakistani security forces and civilians.