File photo used for representational purposes.
Peshawar, Pakistan: Eight soldiers were killed in northwest Pakistan, while seven policemen were briefly kidnapped in separate attacks, police and intelligence officials told AFP on Tuesday.
A Monday clash resulted in the deaths of "eight soldiers" and "nine militants" in the Tirah area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, an intelligence officer said on condition of anonymity.
The Pakistani Taliban (TTP) claimed responsibility.
In a separate incident in the same province, seven police officers were kidnapped from a checkpoint.
They were released Tuesday, following negotiations between a jirga -- or tribal council -- and the militants.
"All the kidnapped policemen have been released following successful negotiations led by local elders with militants," senior police official Muhammad Zia ud-Din told AFP.
He declined to provide further details.
Pakistan has seen a rise in attacks by the TTP on its border with Afghanistan.
The group killed 10 police officers on October 25.
Islamist or separatist attacks on Pakistan's security forces are taking place elsewhere in the country of 240 million.
On Saturday, seven soldiers were killed by separatists in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province.
The incident came a week after a bombing by the same group killed 26 people, including 14 soldiers, at a train station in the provincial capital.
