Gunmen kill soldier in NW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

At least one soldier of the Pakistan army was killed and three others wounded when militants targeted army vehicles near the northwestern border with Afghanistan.

A military vehicle was ambushed near Khar Kamar area when the soldiers were on their way to Datta Khel in North Waziristan, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The injured soldiers have been shifted to Miran Shah Hospital, official media added.

Later, security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to apprehend the culprits.

This was the second militant attack on soldiers in Waziristan district during the last four days.

North Waziristan, one of the seven tribal districts last year merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, has been a battleground between the army and Taliban militants since June 2014 following the launch of a full-scale military onslaught.

According to Pakistan's army, almost 3,000 militants have been killed in the operations which have left more than 200 troops dead from 2014 to 2016.