Terrorists stormed a security checkpoint in Pakistan's northwest near the Afghan border, killing six soldiers, police and security sources said on Tuesday.
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group is separate from but aligned with the Afghan Taliban.
The attack in the former tribal district of Kurram comes as Pakistan and Afghanistan struggle to maintain a fragile truce after border clashes killed dozens in October, their worst fighting since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021.
The attack occurred in the Manato area of Kurram district late Monday afternoon, a police official at the district emergency control room told Anadolu over the phone.
"Six security personnel were martyred and four were injured, while two militants were also killed in the fighting," a government official posted in Kurram, who was not authorised to speak to the media, told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
Security forces also killed a local terrorist commander identified as Usman Khyberi.
Islamabad has blamed a surge in violence in Pakistan on terrorists who use Afghan soil to plan their attacks on security forces across the border. Kabul has denied the charges, saying Pakistan's security is an internal problem.
Kabul and Islamabad, once longtime allies, have engaged in intermittent border skirmishes since October, including heavy firing on Friday that killed at least five people.
Three rounds of peace talks hosted by Qatar, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia have failed to produce a lasting agreement.
