ISLAMABAD

At least three militants were killed and several policemen injured during attacks on police stations in northwestern Pakistan, officials said on Wednesday.

Terrorists carried out an attack on the Miryan police station and another checkpoint in the Bannu area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last night; however, police foiled their attacks, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said.

In a statement, Naqvi appreciated the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police who killed three militants in last night's attack.

According to local police, several policemen also got injured, and they were moved to a local hospital.

On Tuesday, the Pakistan army said at least five soldiers, including a young officer, were killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in southwestern Balochistan province. Following the attack, security forces also killed at least five militants during a clearance operation in the Sher Bandi area of the Kech district.

On Monday, the military said that it killed 31 militants in two separate security operations in the Lakki Marwat and Bannu areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The latest operations came days after 12 army troops and 35 militants were killed in separate clashes across the province last week.

Pakistani security forces have been grappling with a spate of terrorist attacks over the past few years, for which Islamabad accuses "Afghanistan-based" militants loyal to Tehreek-Taliban Pakistan, a consortium of several outlawed outfits in the country.

Kabul denies the accusation.