Suicide bombing in Pakistan kills 15, including 12 soldiers, army says

By Saud Mahsud

DERA ‌ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan, ​July ​24 (Reuters) - Islamist militants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a Pakistani security checkpoint, killing 15 ‌people, including 12 soldiers, in northwest Pakistan, the ⁠military said on Friday, adding that 12 militants had been killed ‌in retaliation.

The attack on ‌the post jointly manned by the military and police happened overnight between Thursday and Friday in the Tank ​district near the Afghan border, an area that has long served as home to Islamist militants.

Militancy ⁠has risen sharply in the northwest Pakistan in recent months.

The army engaged the ​militants, who after failing to breach the security of the checkpoint drove the explosive laden ​vehicle into its outer wall, ‌the military's statement said.

Local Taliban militants, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for ⁠the attack, saying four suicide bombers took part in it, according to a statement.

The Taliban have been waging a war ⁠against the Pakistani state since 2007 in an attempt to ​overthrow the government and replace it with their own brand of strict Islamic governance.

Islamabad says the militants use safe havens in ‌Afghanistan to train and plan attacks in Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies. Afghanistan says ‌the militancy is Pakistan's domestic problem.

(Reporting by Saud Mahsud ⁠in Dera Ismail Khan, ‌Pakistan and Mushtaq Ali ​in Peshawar; Writing by Asif Shahzad and Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Toby Chopra and Philippa ‌Fletcher)

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