At least 15 members of Pakistan's security forces and state personnel were killed early Thursday when a suicide attacker rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the perimeter wall of a joint police checkpoint in the country's northwest.
The assault occurred in Tank district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghan border. Militants backed the bombing with an armed assault on the outpost, which security forces repelled, killing 12 insurgents. Twelve soldiers, two police officers, and one forestry department official were among those killed.
The military attributed the attack to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the outlawed militant group the Pakistani state refers to as Fitna al Khawarij. The TTP has carried out a sustained campaign of attacks against security targets across Pakistan since ending a ceasefire in late 2022.