At least 15 personnel, including 12 soldiers, were killed in an attack on a joint police checkpost in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military’s media wing said on Friday.According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the attack in Tank district was carried out by the Fitna-al-Khawarij early on Friday.The term Fitna-al-Khawarij is used to refer to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).Two police officials and a forest department employee were among the deceased. Twelve terrorists were also killed by the security forces while they were trying to flee.Terrorists breached the security of the joint checkpost. Security forces responded swiftly and effectively, forcing the attackers to retreat, the ISPR said in a statement.The fleeing terrorists rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the outer wall of the checkpost, triggering a massive explosion that killed 15 personnel and caused extensive damage to the facility’s infrastructure, it added.Security forces pursued the fleeing militants and killed 12 terrorists during the operation, it further said.The ISPR said a clearance and search operation was continuing in the area to eliminate any remaining terrorists.According to the Annual Security Report 2025 from the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded a significant surge in violence last year as “fatalities rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025”. PTI