Border clash kills soldier, militants

Eight militants and one Pakistani soldier died in a chaotic border battle in which Afghan and Pakistani troops mistakenly traded fire in the dark, the Pakistani army said.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said militants attacked an Afghan border post across from Pakistan’s Bajur tribal region. Afghan troops fired back but also hit a nearby Pakistani border post, he said.

Pakistani troops retaliated, sparking a shootout in which one Pakistani soldier died and one was wounded, Abbas said. The Pakistani troops reported that at least eight militants were killed on the Afghan side of the frontier.

Abbas said Afghan and Pakistani commanders met to discuss what went wrong and ease tensions.

Afghan and Pakistani troops have skirmished repeatedly on the poorly demarcated border in recent years. U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan have also fired into Pakistan trying to hit militants.