Pakistan's military says an army major and three other officers have been killed in a shoot-out with militants in the country's tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
In a statement, the military said one militant blew himself up and another was shot and killed in the early August 9 raid on a home in the Sherotkai area of the Lower Dir tribal region.
Up to nine more troops were wounded in the operation, and one suspected militant was captured, the statement said.
The statement provided no additional details and only said the raid foiled a possible major militant attack.
The latest troop casualties came weeks after the army launched an operation against militants in another tribal region in the northwest to prevent insurgents from carrying out cross-border attacks in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan.