At least eight people were killed and 15 others wounded in clashes between Pakistani troops and militants in the restive northwestern tribal belt, officials said Monday.

Four militants and one soldier were killed when militants stormed a security forces check point late Sunday in Miramshah, the main town of lawless North Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan.

The military retaliated with an assault early Monday on suspected militant hide outs outside the town, but the attack left three civilians dead and 15 wounded, security officials said.

“Militants attacked our check point in Miramshah on Sunday evening and killed one soldier, we retaliated… and shot dead four militants,” a senior security official told AFP.

On Monday morning “we fired shells and destroyed five shops in Datakhel near Miramshah,” from where military convoys had recently come under attack, he said.

Two security officials confirmed the civilian deaths in Monday’s attack, but the military refused to do so.

“Three civilians were killed and 15 were injured when the security forces fired shells at the suspected militant hide outs,” one of the officials said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.