Pakistan army kills 14 militants in border clash

ASSOCIATED PRESS, ISLAMABAD: Pakistani army officers say the military, backed by helicopter gunships, killed 14 militants in a clash near the Afghan border in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region.

The officers say a group of insurgents sneaked into Pakistan on Saturday and attacked a military checkpoint, killing one soldier and wounding two others.

They say the attack in the Bajur tribal region prompted a gunbattle, still underway hours later.

The officers spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media. Their accounts could not be independently verified because of the remoteness of the region.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share a volatile and porous border that is often the scene of cross-border attacks. Militants from both countries also cross the border to use the neighboring country’s soil as a safe haven.