Rebels kill four Pakistani troops in cross-border attack

Militants launched a cross-border attack on a Pakistani checkpoint in a restive tribal region on Sunday, killing at least four soldiers and wounding four others, the military said.

Rockets were fired from the Afghanistan side of the border into the Khyber region, one of the seven semi-autonomous tribal regions where the Pakistan military has been battling the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants for years.

"According to reports, rounds fired from (the) Afghanistan side by terrorists hit an 8,000-feet-high Pakistani post in Akhandwala Pass," the military said in a statement.

It added, "Four Pakistan army soldiers embraced shahadat (martyrdom) and four others were injured due to the rocket fire."

"Pakistani troops befittingly responded and eliminated the group of terrorists."

Pakistan's seven tribal districts near the Afghan border are rife with homegrown insurgents and are strongholds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives.

Local militants have fled ongoing military offensives since 2008, taking refuge across the border and attacking Pakistani military checkpoints and civilians from there.

Pakistan has been battling a homegrown Islamist insurgency for over a decade following the late 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan.