Unidentified gunmen have ambushed a police checkpoint in Pakistan's the northwestern town of Bannu killing three security personnel. Police fired back, killing three militants and injuring another 12, a local official said, adding that the body of another suspected militant was found on the road connecting Bannu to Miram Shah town, A Press TV correspondent reported Sunday.
Pakistan's remote tribal regions on the troubled border with Afghanistan are widely seen as a safe haven for pro-Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.
Meanwhile, the army continued the hunt for militants in the federally administered tribal area, with gunships pounding Nawagai, Chaharmang, Chamakund, Chinat and Thesil Mamoon sub-divisions.
Pakistan's military launched an all-out offensive in Bajaur in August, in an attempt to clear the area of militants, mostly Taliban supporters who fled Afghanistan after the 2001 US-led invasion of the country.