Ten Taliban, three soldiers killed in Pakistan clashes

ISLAMABAD - Ten Taliban militants and three soldiers were killed Saturday in a roadside bombing and clashes in Pakistan’s tribal region along the Afghan border, security officials said.

A remote-controlled bomb exploded next to a security vehicle in Sour Dhand area of Khyber, one of the seven tribal districts where the Taliban holds sway.

“The bombing completely destroyed the vehicle and killed three soldiers. Eight more troops were injured,” said a senior official from the Frontier Corps.

In neighbouring Orakzai, a group of Taliban militants raided a military check post in the district’s Samba Kand.

“The miscreants fired at the troops deployed there but no one was hurt. Later on, our forces killed four attackers in the retaliatory action,” said an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Six militants died in clashes with the soldiers in Sangra area of the Orakzai.

Government forces are fighting Taliban militants and Al Qaeda rebels in the mountainous tribal region, which the US believes has turned into a major hub for international terrorism.