Pakistan's military said five militants and a soldier were killed in an exchange of fire between the government troops and Islamic extremists in a restive tribal region near the Afghan border on February 20.
The clash took place near the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, where the military has been carrying out a major offensive for more than half a year against Pakistani Taliban and other militants.
The offensive was announced last June after a deadly Taliban attack on Karachi International Airport brought an end to faltering peace talks between Pakistan's government and Pakistani Taliban factions.
Pakistan's military has been using air strikes, artillery, and ground troops in tribal areas that have been used for years as hideouts for Islamist militants -- including Al-Qaeda, Pakistani and Afghan Taliban, and the Haqqani network as well as foreign fighters from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Chechnya.
