GHALLANAI  - Four Pakistani soldiers embraced martyrdom as Afghan militants stormed the Salala checkpost in Mohmand Agency late Monday, source said.
The troops retaliated against the attack, killing 20 attackers and forcing others to flee leaving the bodies of their accomplices at the scene. Sources said the attackers came from Afghanistan.
On April 2, 2012, four Pakistani soldiers were killed after militants attacked an army checkpoint close to the Afghan border. Cross-border attacks on Pakistani forces have been a source of tension.
Pakistan has previously complained about Pakistani Taliban fighters using Afghanistan as a base to stage such attacks. But Afghanistan and the US say the Afghan Taliban operate within Pakistan’s borders to plan attacks on Western forces in Afghanistan, something Pakistan denies.
On November 26 last year, a Nato night raid martyred 24 Pakistani troops, stoking rage among Pakistani authorities which blocked land route of supplies to the allied forces fighting against militants in Afghanistan. Analysts say the Nato attack on Salala checkpost paved the way for Afghan militants to enhance their attacks on security forces and civilians in Pakistani territory.
They said the government should effectively press Afghan government to stop such cross-border attacks.