DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Militants martyred three soldiers close to the border with Afghanistan in the North Waziristan tribal region, where Pakistani Taliban fighters have been targeting the military, security sources told Reuters.

The militants fired on a checkpost in Spinwam district, in the latest of a spate of attacks on security forces, government officials and suspected collaborators in North Waziristan. The military said it was looking into the report.

The rash of violence in tribal lands has coincided with the Afghan Taliban's offensive against the government in Kabul, as the United States hastens its departure from Afghanistan.

The Pakistan government has said any peace deal with the Afghan Taliban should ensure groups, like the Pakistan Taliban, do not use Afghanistan as a safe haven for attacks on Pakistan once Western forces withdraw.

On June 30, two soldiers were martyred in the Dwatoi district of North Waziristan, after militants opened fire from across the Afghanistan border, Pakistan's military said.—Reuters