Suicide attack kills 11 Pakistani soldiers and child

Militants crashed a vehicle packed with explosives into an army checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan, killing 11 security personnel and a child, the military said, as the South Asian country struggles with a surge in violence.

The army said that women and children were among the seven people injured in the attack in the Bajur district on the Afghan border on Monday.

The military said militants advanced towards the wall of a checkpoint after security forces thwarted attempts to enter a settlement where soldiers reside, and 12 attackers were killed as they tried to flee the scene.

The Islamist Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack.

TTP has been waging war against the state since 2007

with the aim of imposing strict Islamic rule over the majority-Muslim nation.

It has stepped up its attacks since it canceled a ceasefire with Islamabad in late 2022.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of providing a safe haven for militants; The Taliban government in Kabul has repeatedly denied this accusation.

Earlier this month, more than 30 people died during Friday prayers in a rare bombing of a mosque in the capital Islamabad.

The attack was claimed by the Islamic State militant group, raising fears that Pakistan may be facing a resurgence of militancy on multiple fronts.