Pakistani army: Dozens of militants killed

The military claimed that the fleeing insurgents "left behind bodies of their accomplices" after the firefight. Three members of the Pakistani security forces were wounded, it said.

CNN wasn't able to independently confirm what took place.

Pakistani security forces also killed eight militants in the southwestern province of Balochistan, including a Taliban commander, during a heavy exchange of fire, an intelligence officer said.

The military actions follow this week's horrifying Taliban attack on an army school in Peshawar that killed 145 people, 132 of them children.

The school massacre prompted widespread revulsion across Pakistan. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif responded by announcing an end to a moratorium on the death penalty in terrorism cases.

The Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, said they targeted a school that mostly admits soldiers' children because the students aspired to follow in their fathers' footsteps and target militants.

They also said it was revenge for the killing of hundreds of innocent tribesmen and their children during a recent offensive by Pakistan's military.

CNN's Sophia Saifi reported from Islamabad, and Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong. Journalist Syed Ali Shah contributed to this report.

Source http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/19/world/asia/pakistan-taliban-deaths/