Three soldiers embraced martyrdom in exchange of fire with militants along Pak-Afghan border in Shawal area, of North Waziristan Agency, the military's media wing said.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations, terrorists from across the Pak-Afghan border "attempted multiple physical and fire raids on Pakistan Army posts in Shawal". Five militants were reportedly killed in retaliatory fire by the military personnel.

"The security forces valiantly repulsed all attempts to overrun posts and inflict major damage," ISPR added.

The soldiers who embraced martyrdom have been identified as Havildar Iftikhar, a resident of Sargodha, Sepoy Aftab from Chitral and Sepoy Usman resident of Gujrat.

The cross-border militant attack comes three days after Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa's Kabul visit, during which he held a one-on-one meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and engaged in delegation-level discussions on issues of bilateral interest.

During the meeting, the measures needed to check the rise of the militant Islamic State (IS) group and terrorists benefiting from a porous Pak-Afghan border "to indulge in terrorism, smuggling and drug trafficking" were discussed.