Pakistan suicide bomb kills 15, including 12 soldiers

The army announced that Islamist militants attacked a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan with an explosives-laden vehicle, killing 15 people, including 12 soldiers. The army said 12 militants were killed in retaliation.

The attack on the police station, where the army and police operate jointly, took place overnight between Thursday and Friday in the Tank region near the Afghan border, which has long been home to Islamist militants.

Militancy has risen sharply in northwestern Pakistan in recent months.

In the statement made by the army, it was stated that the army drove the explosives-laden vehicle towards the outer wall with the militants who failed to overcome the security of the checkpoint.

According to the statement, local Taliban militants, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying four suicide bombers were involved in the attack.

The Taliban has been waging war against the Pakistani state since 2007, with the aim of overthrowing the government and replacing it with its own strict Islamic style of rule.

Islamabad says militants are using safe havens in Afghanistan to train and plan attacks on Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies.

Afghanistan says militancy is Pakistan’s internal problem.