PESHAWAR, June 8: Four soldiers were killed and another four were wounded by a roadside bomb blast in a tribal area of northwestern Pakistan on Friday, in the latest attack in recent weeks in the restive North Waziristan region, officials said.

Security officials said the device was planted on a road in Khar Qamar, an area where security forces had recently conducted a search operation following a previous roadside bomb attack.

The Pakistani Taliban, which is separate from the Afghan Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Mohammad Khurasani, a spokesman for the movement, many of whose members are based across the border in Afghanistan.

Pakistani forces have conducted a series of operations against militant groups including the Pakistani Taliban in North Waziristan over recent years, although officials now say the area has largely been pacified.

 
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