Pakistan Paramilitary Soldier Killed by Afghan Fire

W460

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier was killed on Friday by cross-border fire from Afghanistan in the northwestern mountainous tribal region of Bajaur, military officials said.

"A paramilitary soldier embraced martyrdom due to terrorists' fire from across the border (Afghanistan) near Ghakhai pass in Bajaur this afternoon," the army said in a statement.

However the identity of the militants behind the attack was not mentioned.

It comes after a foiled attack on Pakistani check posts by dozens of militants hiding in Afghanistan's border areas earlier this week. 

At least six militants were killed and nine others were wounded in the attack on Tuesday night near a post between Tripaman and Inkal Sar in the Lower Dir district, close to the border in the country's restive northwest.

Militants based in Afghanistan have attacked Pakistani security posts a number of times souring diplomatic ties between Islamabad and Kabul. 

Islamabad has blamed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah for the attacks. Fazlullah is believed to be hiding somewhere in Afghanistan's Nuristan province.

Bajaur is one of the seven tribal districts in Pakistan which border Afghanistan and are rife with al-Qaida and Taliban led Islamic insurgency.

Pakistan's military has been fighting an offensive against the Pakistani Taliban in the restive North Waziristan tribal district since mid-June.

The assault, which was rumored for months, followed a brazen insurgent attack on Karachi airport that left dozens dead and a peace process with the Pakistani Taliban in tatters.

North Waziristan had become a major base for the TTP which rose up against the state in 2007, while the United States had long called for action in the area against militant groups targeting Nato forces in Afghanistan.

More than 500 militants and 27 soldiers have been killed in the assault so far, according to the military, though their death toll for insurgents cannot be independently confirmed.

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