4 troops, 9 militants killed in northwest Pakistan

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan

At least nine suspected militants -- including two suicide bombers -- and four security personnel were killed in separate attacks in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, according to the army.

Two paramilitary troops and six militants were killed after an armed group attacked a military checkpoint from Afghanistan in the restive Khyber Agency tribal region, said an army statement.

Another paramilitary troop was killed and two others injured in a suicide attack on a paramilitary training center in Charsadda district -- located some 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Peshawar, the capital of Khyber province -- local broadcaster Geo News reported.

According to police, two suicide bombers who stormed the training center at around 6 a.m. (0100GMT) blew themselves up after an exchange of fire with security forces.

In yet another incident, gunmen ambushed a police vehicle in Peshawar, killing a police official before one of the assailants was killed in retaliatory fire, police said.

The fresh wave of attacks comes after the United Kingdom brokered talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in London this week with the aim of quelling escalating tensions between the two neighbors over border areas deemed militant sanctuaries.