At least five army soldiers were martyred and 13 others injured in a clash with militants in a remote area of Orakzai Agency on Tuesday.
Military sources said 30 insurgents were also killed in army’s retaliation following the clash in the Dolnai area of Orakzai close to the Afghan border. “Eighteen security personnel were also wounded in the clash,” sources said.
The operation to drive the militants out from the area and retake control of important mountain heights had been successful, another official said. It was not possible to confirm the death toll independently because the remote district is inaccessible to media and aid workers.
Orakzai is one of seven tribal agencies in Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt, where Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants have carved out strongholds used to plot attacks on Pakistan.
Several militant groups are active in the northwestern semi-autonomous tribal regions, near the border with Afghanistan, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), responsible for many of the bombings across the country in recent years.
