A Taliban gunman on Tuesday shot and killed a soldier in an attack on an army bunker in the north-western region that is a hotbed of Islamist militant activity, an official said. The attack in South Waziristan, a mountainous region on the country's border with Afghanistan, comes as the military presses an offensive against Pakistani Taliban hideouts in neighbouring North Waziristan.
An intelligence official said Taliban militants hiding in the mountains fired into the army outpost, killing one solider and wounding another. "The army shot back, but the enemy hid in the forest cover," the official said on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Army began a major offensive in North Waziristan last summer to drive out Pakistani Taliban and other extremist Islamist militants who launch attacks on government and civilian targets from strongholds there. The army is meeting fierce resistance as it moves further into the lower-lying areas of the Shawal Valley, the Taliban's last stronghold in North Waziristan, military officials said. Over the weekend, seven soldiers were killed in three separate attacks in North and South Waziristan.