Fierce clashes erupted on Sunday when 15 security personnel were killed in an ambush near Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan region, on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.
The fighting continued Tuesday with a regular exchange of heavy machine gun and mortar fire near Miranshah Bazaar and the outskirts.
There were five women and three children among the civilian victims caught in the crossfire.
At least 67 others were also wounded as a result of the shelling in the nearby residential areas. Many of those injured are said to be critical condition.
Sporadic outbreaks of violence have, however, raised fears of an all-out conflict between the gunmen and government forces, which could displace hundreds of thousands of the residents.
MRS/JR