ISLAMABAD: Two Pakistani soldiers, including an army major, and 11 militants were killed in a shootout in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Tuesday.

The operation was conducted in KP’s South Waziristan district, which borders Afghanistan, on intelligence reports about the presence of “Indian-sponsored” militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.

The intense exchange of fire killed 11 militants and injured seven others. The shootout also left two Pakistani soldiers, Major Moiz Abbas Shah and Lance Naik Jibran Ullah, dead.

“Sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharji [militant] found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.

Pakistan and India often blame each other for supporting militancy.