PESHAWAR: Militants martyred six soldiers in an exchange of fire with the military in a northwestern tribal district bordering Afghanistan, the army said on Thursday. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakis-tan (TTP) claimed responsibility.

The bloodshed comes after Pakistan declared a new offensive against militants following a resurgence of attacks, including a mosque bombing that killed more than 100 people in February.

Amir Khan Muttaqi, foreign minister of Afghanistan’s Taliban administration, is arriving in Islamabad on Friday for meetings with his Pakistani and Chinese counterparts.

“A fire exchange took place between terrorists and our own troops,” the army said in a statement describing the incident in North Waziristan, which has long been a hotbed of Islamist militants who operate on both sides of the border.

Three “terrorists” were also killed when the army engaged them, it said, adding that it was searching the area to determine if any more attackers were in hiding.