At least three Pakistani soldiers were killed after militants from across the border in Afghanistan fired indiscriminately at their military check post, the Pakistan Army said on Saturday. The militants opened fire from across the Afghanistan border in the Dewagar area of North Waziristan, to which the Pakistan troops responded in a befitting manner, the army statement said. “Pakistan strongly condemns the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for activities against Pakistan and expects that [the] Afghan government will not allow conduct of such activities in [the] future,” it added. No militant outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

There has been a substantial rise in the number of such attacks in this region over the last two months. Earlier this month, seven Pakistani soldiers were killed after their vehicle was ambushed by militants. Similarly, in March this year, four soldiers were killed in the same vicinity in an intense exchange with militants who were trying to infiltrate from the Afghanistan border.