At least 34 militants and three soldiers were killed in gunfights in a restive Pakistani tribal region where troops have now gained control of strategic heights.

Officials in Islamabad said, the clashes took place in an area between the tribal districts of Kurram and Khyber, in the villages of Para Chamkani and Maidan, during an operation against Taliban militants.

The military said in a statement that the dominating heights of the mountainous area had also been cleared or occupied by forces.

Pakistani troops have been fighting for years against homegrown insurgents in the tribal belt, which Washington considers the main hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.