4 paramilitary troops killed in Pakistan Taliban attack

Local Taliban fighters attacked a security checkpoint in a northwestern border region, leaving at least four Pakistani paramilitary troops dead, a police official said on Sunday.

The attack occurred in Kurram district, located on the border with Afghanistan, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where there has been a rise in violence in recent years.

“Heavily armed militants” launched the attack on Sunday morning, a police official said seeking anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

“At least four security personnel were martyred, and seven others were injured,” he said.

Violence has increased in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021.

The Pakistani Taliban -- known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) -- is the most active militant group in the northwestern region and regularly targets security forces.

Islamabad accuses Kabul’s rulers of failing to root out militants sheltering on Afghan soil as they prepare to stage assaults on Pakistan, a charge the Taliban government denies.

Last week, 13 civilians and five soldiers were killed when suicide bombers drove two car bombs into an army compound in the Bannu district of the same province.

(With inputs from agencies)