Islamabad:
Two Pakistani soldiers including a senior officer were killed today in an exchange of fire with Islamist militants in a restive tribal district along the Afghan border, where the army last week began a ground offensive.
The firefight occurred in the Shawal valley of North Waziristan where the military has been battling Taliban and other insurgents since June last year.
"During an exchange of fire with security forces, six terrorists were killed in Shawal today. An officer, Lieutenant Colonel Faisal Malik and a soldier also embraced shahadat (martyrdom)," the military said in a statement.
The latest incident comes a day after militants launched a cross-border rocket attack on a checkpost in Khyber tribal area, killing four Pakistani soldiers and wounding four others.
Pakistan's foreign office summoned Afghan ambassador Janan Mosazai on Sunday evening and lodged a strong protest over the shelling.
Pakistan's seven semi-autonomous tribal districts near the Afghan border are rife with insurgents and are strongholds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives.
Pakistan has been battling a homegrown Islamist insurgency for over a decade following the late 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan.