Pakistan army on Wednesday said four soldiers were killed in a deadly gun battle with terrorists near the Afghan border.

Six terrorists were also killed, the military said.

“A sanitisation operation is being conducted to eliminate the militants,” the military’s media wing ISPR said in a statement. The violence occurred as the nation celebrated its 78th Independence Day.

The latest clash took place in the South Waziristan district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has served as a stronghold of militants linked to al-Qaeda.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group for Islamist militants in the country, has stepped up attacks on the country’s security forces since their Afghan counterparts seized power in Afghanistan.

The military said it was conducting around 100 intelligence-based operations against the militants every day.

Around 80,000 Pakistanis have been killed in years of violence by the Pakistani Taliban, who want to overthrow the government to implement sharia, or strict Islamic law, as in Afghanistan.

Islamabad blames Kabul for aiding Islamist militants who launch deadly cross-border attacks against the security forces and civilians in Pakistan from their alleged hideouts in Afghanistan. 

The Taliban denied the allegations. 

(dpa/NAN)