Suicide bomber kills 15 at security checkpoint in northwest Pakistan

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A suicide bomber, supported by armed militants, targeted a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan overnight, killing 15 security personnel, the military said on Friday.

In a statement, the military said troops repelled the assault in the Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The attackers attempted to storm the checkpoint before ramming an explosives-laden vehicle into its perimeter wall, causing a powerful blast that severely damaged the site.

“Fifteen brave sons of soil including twelve military, two policemen and a government official ex forest department rendered the ultimate sacrifice and embraced Shahadat (martyrdom),” the military’s media wing said in a statement.

The military blamed the attack on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), although the group did not immediately claim responsibility.

The TTP is a separate group but is allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers. Pakistan has long accused the Taliban government in Afghanistan of giving shelter to TTP militants, an allegation Kabul denies.

The dispute has fuelled tensions between the neighbours, with Pakistan carrying out airstrikes that it says target militants on Afghan soil.

Afghan authorities and the United Nations have said dozens of civilians were killed in the latest Pakistani strikes in eastern Afghanistan in June.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks targeting security forces in recent years, with authorities blaming the TTP and allied groups for much of the violence.