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At least 10 Pakistani soldiers and 23 militants were killed in the clash in the remote Tirah Valley in the Bara area of Khyber, near the Afghanistan border.
"Dozens of militants attacked three recently established security checkpoints. That led to heavy fighting," a military official told Reuters, requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
Casualties could not be independently verified, and militants often dispute official accounts.
Several military offensives in the tribal regions such as Khyber have failed to crush militant groups.
Copyright Reuters, 2012