Islamabad, Pakistan - Eight people, including two soldiers, have been killed in a raid on a Pakistani military border post in the Khyber tribal area, according to the Pakistan military.

The raid was launched from Afghan territory on Friday and resulted in the killing of six attackers and two Pakistani soldiers.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement issued via email to media, claiming it had attacked three border posts, capturing one.

"One of the Pakistani forces' posts was defeated by the mujahideen and set on fire," said Asad Mansoor, spokesman for the group.

READ MORE: Afghan refugees return home amid Pakistan crackdown

Pakistan shares a largely unpatrolled 2,500km-long mountainous border with Afghanistan, which the latter disputes.

Afghanistan rejects the colonial-era Durand Line border drawn up in 1893 and does not want a solid recognition of the boundary.

In a second incident in the Khyber tribal area on Friday, a military operation in Rajgal Valley killed "several" fighters, according to the Pakistani military media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

An ISPR statement said troops acted on a tip-off on the presence of the leader of banned armed group, Lashkar-e-Islam, in the area.

Also on Friday, Pakistan's military said it had foiled an attempted suicide attack on a paramilitary training centre in Shabqadar, in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Two suicide bombers and a soldier were killed in the attempted attack, while another soldier was wounded, the military said.

Since a wave of violence in February claimed more than 130 lives across Pakistan, authorities there have sealed the main border crossings with Afghanistan, blaming that country for giving sanctuary to Pakistani Taliban fighters.

Afghanistan denies the charge, and has long accused Pakistan of providing sanctuary to Afghan armed groups such as the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network.

READ MORE: Pakistan's new COAS - General Qamar Javed Bajwa

On Thursday, Sartaj Aziz, foreign policy adviser to the Pakistani prime minister, and Haneef Atmar, the Afghan national security adviser, met for talks in London aimed at ending the latest impasse.

"Discussions were substantive, constructive, forward-looking and resultful," said Omar Zakhilwal, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, in a statement following the meeting.

"The success of this important meeting certainly will be judged by the common people of our two respective countries as to how this, in practical terms, responds to their aspiration for good neighbourly relations, peace and their wellbeing."</s>Pakistani Taliban faction says it carried out attack on border post as suicide attack is foiled in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Eight people, including two soldiers, have been killed in a raid on a Pakistani military border post in the Khyber tribal area, according to the Pakistan military.

The raid was launched from Afghan territory on Friday and resulted in the killing of six attackers and two Pakistani soldiers.

"Last night, there was an aerial operation targeting terrorists locations in the Rajgal valley of Khyber tribal area," the statement said.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement issued via email to media, claiming it had attacked three border posts, capturing one.

"One of the Pakistani forces' posts was defeated by the mujahideen and set on fire," said Asad Mansoor, spokesman for the group.

Pakistan shares a largely unpatrolled 2,500km-long mountainous border with Afghanistan, which the latter disputes.

Afghanistan rejects the colonial-era Durand Line border drawn up in 1893 and does not want a solid recognition of the boundary.

In a separate incident on Friday, Pakistan's military said it foiled an attempted suicide attack on a paramilitary training centre in Shabqadar in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Two suicide bombers and a soldier were killed in the attempted attack, while another soldier was wounded, the military said.

Since a wave of violence in February claimed more than 130 lives across Pakistan, authorities there have sealed the main border crossings with Afghanistan, blaming that country for giving sanctuary to Pakistani Taliban fighters.

Afghanistan denies the charge, and has long accused Pakistan of providing sanctuary to Afghan armed groups such as the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani Network.

On Thursday Sartaj Aziz, foreign policy adviser to the Pakistani prime minister, and Haneef Atmar, the Afghan national security adviser, met for talks in London aimed at ending the latest impasse.

"Discussions were substantive, constructive, forward-looking and resultful," said Omar Zakhilwal, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, in a statement following the meeting.

"The success of this important meeting certainly will be judged by the common people of our two respective countries as to how this, in practical terms, responds to their aspiration for good neighbourly relations, peace and their well being."</s>The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack on the Pakistani-Indian border near the Pakistani city of Lahore on Sunday which killed at least 45 people.

"We claim the Lahore suicide attack," senior commander Gilamn Mehsud said.

The attack was carried out in response to the Pakistani army's operation against Islamist militants in the tribal areas straddling the Afghan border, he said.</s>PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A pair of suicide bombers attacked a Pakistani training facility belonging to the country’s frontier troops early on Friday, killing an officer, while an overnight cross-border attack in the Khyber tribal region killed two troops, officials said.

According to Liaquat Ali Khan, the commandant of the Frontier Constabulary, the attackers sneaked into the training facility in northwestern Pakistan to try to “cause maximum casualties.”

Over 70 recruits were staying at the facility, located near the town of Charsadda. Khan said the guards quickly responded and a shootout with the attackers set off their explosives’ vests. One of the guards died in the explosion while two officers were wounded, he added.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Hours earlier, in the Khyber tribal region, the cross-border attack late Thursday left two Pakistani soldiers and six suspected militants dead, a military statement said.

Asad Mansoor, a spokesman for the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar breakaway faction of Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the group’s fighters targeted the army post and warning of more such attacks.

Later Friday, the military said it had launched airstrikes in the Khyber region the previous night after receiving intelligence about the presence of a local militant leader, Mangal Bagh. Several suspects were killed, it added, providing no further details. It did not elaborate on the fate of Bagh, who has escaped such airstrikes in recent years.

Pakistani militant have carried out numerous attacks in the country over the last decade, killing thousands of people, including police and paramilitary forces.

The country’s boundary with neighboring Afghanistan is especially volatile and Islamabad claims many of the attacks in Pakistan are orchestrated from militant safe havens next door. After a string of suicide attacks killed more than 125 people in Pakistan last month, Islamabad closed the Pakistan-Afghan border indefinitely.

Associated Press Writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.</s>At least three Pakistani soldiers and eight Taliban militants were killed Friday when terrorists launched cross-border attacks from Afghanistan on training facilities of the frontier troops in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said. “Terrorists from across the Pak-Border attempted physical attack on Pak FC (Frontier Constabulary) Post in Khyber Agency,” said a military statement, adding that six militants and two soldiers were also killed in the exchange of fire.

The attack in Khyber tribal district was claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), a faction of the umbrella Pakistani Taliban.

Another terrorist attack was also foiled at an FC training centre in Charsadda. One soldier was killed while another was injured when suicide bombers stormed the training centre located in Charsadda district.

During the exchange of fire, two suicide bombers were killed, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

The latest incident comes at a time when Pakistan and Afghanistan have reported progress during talks in London on the re-opening of the Pak-Afghan border.

The two sides had reportedly agreed to take “tangible” confidence-building measures to ease each other’s concerns, Dawn reported.

Last week, Five Taliban militants were killed by Pakistan army, who were plotting attacks on educational institutions and judicial complexes, during an operation that also left two soldiers dead in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Pakistan last month launched Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad to clean the country of remnants of militants after dismantling their hideouts in remote tribal region.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now</s>RAWALPINDI, Mar 17 (APP): A Pakistani border post was attacked

 by some terrorists from Afghanistan side resulting in killing of six

 terrorists while two FC men embrace shahadat.

 According to Inter services Public Relations (ISPR) here on

 Friday, terrorists from across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border,

 attempted physical attack on Pakistan’s Post of FC in Khyber Agency.

 Pakistani troops effectively responded, which resulted in

 killing of six terrorists. During the exchange of fire with the

 attackers two FC men embraced shahdat.</s>The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was a response to the Pakistani army's actions against their positions in tribal areas straddling Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

The suicide bombing took place in a car park on the Pakistani side at least 500 meters from the border with India. No Indian troops were hurt in the attack.

"I was sitting in my office near the border when I heard the blast. I rushed to the scene and saw scattered bodies, injured men, women and children and smashed cars," a Pakistani intelligence source told Reuters.

Pakistani police said they were investigating the attack and a doctor said up to 70 people had been wounded.

"The death toll increased to 45," the provincial police chief in the Pakistani city of Lahore told Reuters.

Hundreds of people visit the Wagah border crossing near the Pakistani city of Lahore every day to witness the flags of both countries being lowered just before sunset.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars and remain locked in a bitter conflict over the region of Kashmir, which both sides claim.

India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring jihadist groups in the region and encouraging them to make inroads into Indian territory to stage attacks against Indian forces, a charge Pakistan denies.

But the Taliban claim of responsibility suggested the suicide bombing had nothing to do with India.

"We claim the Lahore suicide attack," said a senior Pakistan Taliban commander, Gilamn Mehsud.

Ashok Kumar, inspector general of India's Border Security Force guarding Wagah, said the blast had taken place at around 6:15pm local time.

"Our side is safe. We are alert, have increased our security, we are in constant touch with district officials and state police," he said.

Any explosion on the India-Pakistan border is far more serious than a similar event on the Pakistan-Afghan border, another Indian security official said. He said there had not been any major attack in Pakistani Punjab in recent months.</s>The move followed last week's release of an audio message purporting to have been recorded by the spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, saying he and a group of other commanders had defected to the Middle Eastern jihadist group, Islamic State.

The authenticity of that recording, posted online, could not be independently verified and Shahidullah's mobile phone has been switched off ever since.

The Taliban leadership said he no longer worked for them and reiterated their support for the Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Omar.

"As far as allegiance to ISIS (Islamic State) is concerned, (Taliban leader) Amir Mullah Fazlullah has clarified that our allegiance is to Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahid," they said in the statement.

The leadership said Shahidullah Shahid was a nom de guerre and the spokesman's real name was Sheikh Maqbool. It did not name his successor.

One Taliban commander told Reuters Shahidullah's pledge of allegiance to IS was a move to seek publicity.

"He used our name and tried to make it big news in the media," the commander said.

The Pakistani Taliban have been deeply divided for years, with dozens of smaller groups jostling for influence, although the movement itself says its divisions are exaggerated by the Pakistani authorities to discredit the group.

The powerful Mehsud tribe has virtually refused to accept the authority of the group's new leader, Mullah Fazlullah, who came to power last year after his predecessor was killed in a U.S. drone strike in the remote mountains on the Afghan border.

Moreover, militants from the Mohmand region have split from the main Taliban movement and formed a separate group called Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.

There is little evidence of direct contacts between militants operating in Pakistan's tribal areas and Islamic State leaders, although the Middle Eastern group's radical rhetoric is likely to have captured the imagination of many fighters.

There are many fundamental differences between the Taliban and IS, and al-Qaeda-linked commanders are believed to be wary of Islamic State's inroads into South and Central Asia.

Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan are fighting to topple governments there and set up a strict Sharia state based on Islamic law, whereas IS, which controls swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, wants to create a global caliphate.

Yet activists sympathetic to IS have been recently spotted in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, distributing leaflets praising IS, and Islamic State flags have sprung up at street rallies in Indian-administered Kashmir.

As it seeks to expand its mission globally, IS is likely to be keen to set up base in South and Central Asia, a region rife with anti-Western ideology and full of unemployed men ready to take up arms to fight for their beliefs.</s>For years, Pakistani Taliban commanders fighting the Pakistani state have been hiding in remote areas of east Afghanistan, plotting attacks and recruiting.

But in recent weeks, officials say the insurgency has been weakened by a spate strikes by U.S. drones and a rebellion by tribesmen in Afghanistan's Kunar province.

The Pakistani and Afghan Taliban are allied and share the goal of toppling their respective governments and setting up an Islamist state across the region.

Their presence on both sides of the border has been a bone of contention between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the two trading accusations of sheltering insurgents.

But the ascent to power of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has raised hopes for more cooperation in tackling the insurgency.

Four Pakistani Taliban commanders told Reuters drone strikes and tension with tribesmen had forced them to move from small Afghan towns to mountainous border areas.

Two of them said they narrowly missed being hit by U.S. drones last month. There is no complete record of Afghan drone strikes so it was not possible to verify their claims.

A strike on Nov. 24 hit a house where Pakistani Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah had stayed the night before and killed two commanders, one Taliban commander said.

A drone strike on Monday in Nangarhar province killed eight people, including Pakistani Taliban, said district governor Mahlem Mahshuq.

Drone strikes in Afghanistan have increased recently, said Matthew Henman, who runs IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre Database, which tracks reports of strikes. Out of 56 reported this year, 30 were since September.

Relations between Pakistani Taliban and tribesmen have also deteriorated - a trend Afghan forces are trying to exploit.

Kunar governor Shuja-ul Mulk Jalala said there was an uprising in Dangam district 11 days ago.

"Villagers, backed by a unit of Afghan police and army launched an operation against the Pakistani Taliban," he said.

Jalala said villagers had complained of Pakistani Taliban harassment and the militants sometimes attacked Afghan forces.

"Elders complained that there were no difference between good or bad Taliban and decided to drive them out," Jalala said.

A militant commander on Pakistan's border said Afghan forces had detained some Pakistani militants.

"Previously, they would avoid visiting areas where our people were staying and even provided food ... but now they're creating problems," another militant said.</s>The violence in Pakistan comes as the United States struggles to bring stability to neighbouring Afghanistan before most of its forces pull out after 12 years of inconclusive war.

In one of the worst attacks in Afghanistan in a year, dozens of people were killed on Tuesday when a car bomb exploded in a crowded market in the eastern province of Paktika, near the Pakistani border.

Taliban and other al Qaeda-linked fighters battling in both Afghanistan and Pakistan have for years mingled in strongholds in Pakistan's ungoverned, ethnic Pashtun border lands but there has been little coordination in confronting them between U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan and their Pakistani allies.

On Wednesday, Pakistani jets killed 35 suspected militants in the Shawal valley, a remote militant stronghold on the Pakistani side of the border opposite Afghanistan's Paktika, Pakistani military officials said.

The military said that the jets targeted members of the Pakistani Taliban and included Uzbeks, Chechens and Arab fighters, who had fled to the remote Shawal region from the military's offensive launched last month.

"These terrorists were earlier evicted from (the towns of) Mir Ali and Miranshah and they took refuge in the forests of the Shawal valley where jets have been targeting their positions," one Pakistani official said.

There was no independent confirmation of the casualties.

Hours earlier, a big explosion went off in Datta Khel, a town in North Waziristan region near the border, and resident Malik Wakil Khan, said 18 bodies had been recovered from the rubble of a compound.

Pakistani security officials in the area gave tolls of from 15 to 20 killed and several of them said a U.S. drone carried out the strike.

But a high-ranking Pakistani military official later denied that the United States was responsible for the attack. He did not elaborate.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told Reuters the Pakistani military had no confirmation there had been a U.S. drone strike.

Pakistan publicly condemns the U.S. drones strikes saying they often kill civilians and are a violation of sovereignty. But some officials, including a former president, have said the military has secretly approved them in the past.

The uncertainty over the cause of the Datta Khel explosion underlines the difficulty in getting reliable information about military operations along the border.

The area is largely sealed off to outsiders and, in addition, the United States does not provide information about its drone attacks. The Pakistani military is also often reluctant to give details of its operations.

U.S. drone strikes resumed in Pakistan in June after a hiatus of six months, during which the Pakistani Taliban and the government had been involved in desultory peace talks.

Within days of the resumption of the strikes, Pakistan announced a military offensive designed to push the Pakistani Taliban out of North Waziristan.

Pakistan's allies had long called for such a push, complaining that militants were using the area as a base for cross-border attacks into Afghanistan.

Pakistan has promised to eradicate all militants from North Waziristan, a stark departure from a traditional policy of tolerating some militants that do not attack the Pakistani state.

More than half a million civilians were ordered to leave their homes before ground operations started. Residents say most militants left too.

Some of the militants are believed to have gone to ground in Pakistan's cities, while others have apparently fanned out into remote mountains and forests in areas such as the Shawal Valley.
Gunmen raid a Pakistani military post near the border with Afghanistan, killing at least eight people. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, claim responsibility.