ISLAMABAD: The Army repulsed a late evening assault by terrorists on one of its strategic posts in South Waziristan Agency (SWA) on Wednesday, killing 10 attackers. Three soldiers also lost their lives.

“Terrorists attacked Green Ridge Post in South Waziristan at about 2000 hours. Security forces responded valiantly,” a military spokesman said.

“Ten terrorists were killed in retaliatory action by security forces, while three of our troops died,” he added.

The attack took place in Ladha sub-division of South Waziristan Agency.

Ladha, once a stronghold of the Taliban, lies between Kaniguram and Makeen. It is the largest of the agency’s administrative sub-divisions in terms of population. The army had regained control of Ladha from the Taliban in 2009 during Operation Rah-i-Nijat. The region is mountainous and has several Taliban sanctuaries.

Details about the attack were scant because it happened late in the evening and the engagement continued for almost an hour. A military officer said it appeared to be a multi-direction strike by “a large group of terrorists”.

According to military sources, there were about 40 soldiers at the post at the time of the attack.

It was not clear which militant group was behind the strike. People familiar with the region suspect that the attack could have been carried out by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The army did not release names of the soldiers killed in the attack since their families had not been intimated at the time of filing of this report. However, an official said an officer was among the three men the army lost in the exchange of fire.

The attack was one of the major incidents in the area (South Waziristan) after a relatively long break.

It came as the Minister of State for Interior, Baleeghur Rehman, told the Senate that the government was making efforts to restart the dialogue process with the TTP that had been on freeze since the death of its chief Hakeemullah Mehsud in a drone attack on Nov 1.

Last month, terrorists attacked Khajoori check-post in North Waziristan in which three troops died. The attack was claimed by Ansarul Mujahideen, a TTP affiliate.

The army conducted raids on terrorist hideouts after the strike and reportedly killed 33 terrorists.