ISLAMABAD: Militants martyred three soldiers close to the border with Afghanistan in North Waziristan, where militants from the proscribed Afghanistan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan group have been targeting the military, security sources told Reuters.
The militants fired on a checkpoint in Spinwam district, in the latest of a spate of attacks on security forces, government officials and suspected collaborators in North Waziristan.
The military said it was looking into the report.
The rash of violence in tribal lands has coincided with the Afghanistan Taliban’s offensive against the government in Kabul, as the United States hastens its departure from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s government has accused Pakistan of providing covert support for the Taliban, which Islamabad denies.
Islamabad has said any peace deal with the Afghan Taliban should ensure groups, like the TTP, do not use Afghanistan as a safe haven for attacks on Pakistan once Nato forces withdraw.
On June 30, two soldiers were martyred in the Dwatoi district of North Waziristan, after militants opened fire from across the Afghanistan border.
Days earlier, on June 20, a soldier was martyred in another attack in Spinwam district. In May, militants ambushed and martyred four soldiers fencing the disputed border with Afghanistan in the southwest province of Balochistan.
