A suicide bombing combined with an armed assault on a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan killed 15 members of the country’s security forces, the military reported Friday. The attack occurred overnight in Tank district, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

According to a military statement, a group of militants, including a suicide bomber, attempted to overrun the checkpoint. Security personnel successfully repelled the initial infiltration, but the assailants then detonated a vehicle rigged with explosives against the perimeter wall, causing extensive damage. The military confirmed 12 soldiers, two police officers, and a former forest department official were among those killed in the assault.

In the ensuing counteroperation, security forces killed 12 militants. Clearance efforts were ongoing to locate any remaining attackers following the incident.

The military attributed the attack to the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP), a group distinct from but allied with Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban. Pakistan has frequently accused the Afghan Taliban government of harboring TTP militants, charges denied by Kabul. The TTP has yet to issue a statement regarding this attack.

This incident is reflective of an uptick in violence targeting police and security forces in Pakistan in recent years. Authorities have largely attributed such attacks to the TTP and affiliated militant organizations operating within the region.