PESHAWAR:

At least 10 militants and three soldiers were killed in a clash in northwest Pakistan late Wednesday, the military said.

The incident took place in South Waziristan tribal district along the Afghan border when a group of militants attacked a security forces check post.

"Security forces repulsed the terrorists' attack. As many as 10 terrorists were killed in exchange of fire.

"Three security personnel embraced martyrdom, fighting valiantly," the military said in a text message to Agence France Presse late Wednesday.

The number and identity of those killed could not be verified independently.

South Waziristan is one of the country's seven semi-autonomous tribal districts which Washington considers a major hub of Taliban and al-Qaida militants plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan insurgent group has led a bloody campaign against the Pakistani state in recent years, carrying out hundreds of attacks on security forces and government targets, mainly in the northwest. (AFP)

SOURCE: AFP