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Islamabad: Pakistani officials say at least three soldiers and seven militants were killed in a clash in the country's restive northwestern tribal region.
According to local and security officials, the clash took place on January 19 during an army operation to clear suspected militants from the Banda area of Salarzai town in the Bajaur tribal district, near the Afghan border.
Bajaur is a part of Pakistan's seven tribal districts, which are rife with Islamic militants, including the Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives.
Pakistani troop have been engaged in a full-scale offensive against the militants in the North Waziristan and Khyber tribal districts since last year.
Pakistan has strengthened its counterterrorism strategy in the wake of a December 16 attack on an army-run school in Peshawar that killed more than 150 people, most of them children.
Copyright (c) 2013. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.