Lahore: Fifteen people, including 12 soldiers, were killed in a suicide bombing in northwest Pakistan on Friday, the military said.
Islamist militants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a Pakistani security checkpoint, Reuters reported.
Pakistani army personnel struck back in retaliation, killing 12 militants.
The attack on the security post, jointly manned by the military and police, took place in the early hours of Friday in the Tank district near the Afghan border, an area that has been home to Islamist militants for a long time.
The army engaged the militants, who after failing to breach the security of the checkpoint, drove the explosive-laden vehicle into its outer wall, according to the Pakistan military’s statement.
Local Taliban militants, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying four suicide bombers took part in it.
Militancy in northwest Pakistan has risen in recent months.
Pakistani administration says militants use safe havens in Afghanistan to train and plan attacks in Pakistan. Kabul has repeatedly denied that charge, saying that militancy is Pakistan’s domestic problem.