12 soldiers killed in suicide attack at security post in northwest Pakistan

At least 12 security personnel were killed and several others injured after a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle filled with explosives at a security post in northwestern Pakistan.

The attack occurred on Tuesday evening in Bannu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.

While the government has not commented on the incident, security and intelligence officials confirmed that operations were underway to target those responsible for the attack, news agency Associated Press (AP) reported.

Pakistan has seen an increase in violence since November 2022, when the Pakistani Taliban ended a cease-fire agreement with the Pakistani government.

The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is a separate group from the Afghan Taliban but has strong ties to them. The TTP's leadership and fighters are reportedly based in Afghanistan, where the Taliban's takeover in 2021 has strengthened their position.