Insurgents kill four Pakistani soldiers after checkpoint attack

Four Pakistani soldiers were killed and at least eight are missing after a checkpoint attack in the remote border region of North Waziristan, security officials said.

The Pakistani military launched an operation to push the Taliban out of North Waziristan, their key stronghold, in June. Bases there were used by a variety of insurgent groups to stage deadly attacks in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The insurgents fired rockers and grenades to storm the checkpoint overnight. A major was among the dead, while eleven men were wounded, and between eight and 10 soldiers were missing, Reuters said.

A curfew had been imposed in Datta Khel, where the attack took place, and soldiers were combing the area around the Spara Gher checkpoint for their missing comrades.

The Taliban have captured Pakistani soldiers in the past. Sometimes they have been released or have escaped. In 2012, the Islamist group beheaded 17 soldiers and posted a video of the killings on the Internet.

The military launched the North Waziristan operation to flush out the militants on June 15, days after militants mounted a deadly assault on Pakistan's biggest airport.

The offensive followed months of futile attempts to hold peace talks between the new government of Nawaz Sharif and the insurgents.

The military says it has killed around 1,200 insurgents so far and arrested around 300.