The Pakistani army announced that militants attacked three of its sites in the northwest of the country on the border with Afghanistan, which led to violent clashes that resulted in the death of three soldiers and four militants. The army said in a statement that the attacks took place in the Tirah Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday evening. It added that "a search operation is underway in the area to eliminate any other extremists and that security forces are determined to eliminate the threat of terrorism." The army did not provide further details, but a faction that broke away from the Pakistani Taliban movement claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement. Authorities say that the faction known as "Gul Bahadur" is "based in Afghanistan." Pakistan has witnessed an increase in militant attacks in recent years, especially in the northwest of the country. Source: National Iraqi News Agency