One soldier and eight militants were killed Thursday in clashes between Pakistani security forces and the Taliban in the restive north-western region, a security official said, dpa reported.
The incident occurred in Tapokale area of Orakzai, one of seven tribal districts where government forces are fighting Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters.
"Some two dozens militants conducted the raid and fired at the security check-point. In result one of our soldiers was martyred and another sustained injuries," said Major Fazal Ur Rehman, a spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps.
"In retaliation our jets successfully targeted the militants, killing at least eight of them and injuring several," he said. "Their two hideouts were also destroyed".
Orakzai emerged as a safe haven of the militants after they were uprooted from South Waziristan in a military operation last year.
Government troops have been fighting the militants in Orakzai since an offensive was launched in March.
According to the officials hundreds of militants and dozens of soldiers have been killed in Orakzai so far and large areas of the district have been cleared.
The clashes were halted for around two weeks in late July when the floods devastated large areas of the country. The floods killed more than 1400 people and displaced around 15.2 milllion, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.