Around 150 militants armed with rockets attacked a security checkpost in Pakistan’s Waziristan on Thursday, killing eight soldiers, intelligence officials said, as tensions rise in the border region.
Twelve militants were killed in retaliatory firing by security forces.
The attack came on the heels of stepped-up missile strikes by U.S. drone aircraft in the tribal region along the Afghan border regarded as a hub of militants from around the world.
“The militants were carrying rockets and heavy weapons and attacked the checkpost shortly after midnight,” an intelligence official in the region told Reuters.
“Eight soldiers were killed and twelve were wounded,” he added.
Security forces hit back at the militants, killing at least 12 of them and wounding five, another official said.
