Pakistani authorities have recovered the bodies of 10 soldiers in an exchange with the Taliban, following a clash with the militant group two weeks ago in the country's northwest.

Officials said Monday the soldiers had been missing since the Taliban attacked an outpost on December 21 in the Orakzai tribal agency. Through negotiations, the two sides exchanged their dead, 10 soldiers for 10 militants.

The exchange comes days after Pakistan held funeral services for 15 paramilitary soldiers abducted and killed by the Taliban in the country's northwest.

A spokesman for the Islamic militant group said it killed the troops who were kidnapped December 22 in the Tank district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, in revenge for continued military operations against the militants near the Afghan border.

Local authorities found the bullet-riddled bodies of 15 members of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary last week in the tribal region of North Waziristan. They said the remains showed signs of torture.

The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban, is a loosely organized group of insurgents that formed in 2007. Although its members mainly operate in Pakistan's tribal areas, the group is believed to have carried out routine bomb and gun attacks elsewhere in the country.

In recent months, various Pakistani militants and government officials have suggested that Islamabad is holding preliminary peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban and affiliated militant groups. But other officials and militant leaders have rejected the claim, and violence along the border has continued.