Seven others, including women and children, were injured, while 12 attackers were killed trying to flee.
A suicide bomber backed by a group of gunmen rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the wall of a security post after troops signaled him to stop in a former Pakistani Taliban stronghold in northwestern Pakistan, causing part of the compound to collapse and killing 11 soldiers and a child, the military and police said Tuesday.
In a statement, the military said the attackers overnight had sought to breach the checkpoint but were thwarted by security forces. It said troops later pursued and killed 12 “khwarij,” a term authorities use for the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence in recent years, most blamed on TTP. The group is separate from but closely allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban, who returned to power in 2021. The increase in attacks has strained relations between Islamabad and Kabul, as Pakistan accuses the TTP of operating freely inside Afghanistan, a charge both the TTP and Kabul deny, the report added.
MA/PR
