At least three Pakistani soldiers and four militants were killed in a fire exchange in three different locations in Khyber tribal district of Pakistan's northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province bordering Afghanistan, said military on Saturday. According to Pakistan military's Inter Services Public Relations, a sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other militant found in the area. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a statement, deemed "critical" the mission to rid the nation of extremist threats. The exchange of fire comes at a time when Pakistan has witnessed a rise in terror attacks, especially in KPK and Balochistan provinces bordering Afghanistan after the banned outfit Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan ended the ceasefire agreement with the government last year. Source: Kuwait News Agency