A soldier and 16 Taliban militants were killed Saturday after an ambush on a border post in Pakistan's restive northwestern tribal area, military officials said.

"Up to 200 Taliban militants from across the border attacked a group of Pakistani posts and at least 16 militants were killed in the fierce fighting," a senior military official told AFP.

The attack took place around 0015 GMT in the Bajaur tribal district bordering Afghanistan.

"One soldier embraced martyrdom and two others were wounded critically," the official said.

"The militants from Tehreek-e-Taliban Bajaur and Swat chapters had regrouped in Ghund village of Afghanistan and launched the attack from there," the official said.

Another military official confirmed the attack and casualties, which could not be verified independently.

Bajaur is one of seven semi-autonomous tribal regions plagued by insurgency.

Since the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) rose up against the Pakistani state in 2007, more than 6,800 people have been killed in bomb and gun attacks around Pakistan, according to an AFP tally.