Pakistan’s army says shootout near Afghan border kills 3 soldiers, 3 militants

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s army says militants have attacked a security checkpoint in the country’s northwest, near the border with Afghanistan, triggering a shootout that left three soldiers and three militants dead. Four militants were also wounded. The shootout early Saturday took place in a tribal area of North Waziristan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban. The army said Sunday it carried out search operations to hunt down those responsible for the attack. The Pakistani Taliban group remains a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August 2021, following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from the country.