Pakistani military killed 16 militants during clashes in the country's northwest restive area in the last 24 hours, the army said in a statement Tuesday.

Ten militants were killed when the security forces conducted a search and clearance operation near Kunar Sar, which is located in the Admi Kot area of South Waziristan tribal area, the Inter Services Public Relations said in the daily press release.

Two soldiers lost their lives when an Improvised Explosive Device went off in the Udin Sar area of the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.

In the Shakai sector, security forces conducted a search and clearance operation and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition.

Pakistani security forces continued search and clearance operation at some areas of Swat and Malakand, North West Frontier Province, killing six militants with huge cache of arms and ammunition recovered, the statement said.

According to the army statistics, Pakistani security forces have killed more than 600 militants since they launched the ground assault on Oct. 17, 2009 in the South Waziristan, advancing towards the main base of Taliban militants in Pakistan.