Pakistan Says Seven Militants, Two Soldiers Killed Near Afghan Border

Pakistan’s military says government troops raided a militant hideout in a former Taliban stronghold near Afghanistan on April 10, triggering a shootout in which seven militants and two soldiers were killed.

The military said the raid took place in the North Waziristan region, in the village of Zakir Khel.

It said troops carried out the raid after authorities received "confirmed information about the presence of terrorists."

The operation follows after a similar raid on March 18 against a suspected militant hideout in Zakir Khel resulted in the deaths of seven militants and four members of Pakistan’s security forces.

North Waziristan served as a stronghold for local and foreign militants until 2014, when the Pakistani Army launched a massive military operation to clear the region of combatants.

Despite the army’s claims of success, the region on the border of Afghanistan has continued to be the scene of violent attacks, targeted killings, and roadside bombs.

Earlier on April 10, a roadside bomb exploded near a Pakistani paramilitary vehicle in the southwestern Balochistan Province.

That explosion killed two soldiers who were clearing the area ahead of the construction of fencing along the border with Afghanistan.

Two other people were wounded in the blast near the Chaman border crossing, according to local Pakistani officials.

With reporting by AP