6 security personnel killed, 11 injured in terror attack in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

PESHAWARL: Six security forces personnel were killed and 11 others injured in a terror attack on a security check post in the intervening night of Thursday and Friday in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, officials said.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to officials, a group of militants attacked the security check post in Mishta village at Ladha tehsil in South Waziristan district resulting in the death of six security forces personnel and injury to 11 others.

An official source said a clearance operation is underway to neutralise the threat. The attack comes amidst rising tensions in the region. The TTP has been active in the area, with several similar attacks targeting security forces.

In another incident, seven militants were killed and two security personnel injured in an exchange of fire on Friday at Azam Warsak area in South Waziristan. The gunfight took place after the militants, who were on a move, were intercepted by the security personnel.

The Pakistani government has repeatedly accused the TTP of operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan, a claim denied by the Afghan Taliban.

There has been an uptick in the incidents of terrorism in Pakistan since the Taliban took over the government in Kabul in 2021, dashing hopes in Islamabad that a friendly government in Afghanistan would help to tackle militancy. Relations between the two countries have lately become strained, largely because of the TTP but also due to frequent border skirmishes.

The TTP was set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007. The Pakistani government has officially declared the banned organisation as "Fitna al-Khawarij", a reference to a group in earlier Islamic history which was involved in violence