MIRAMSHAH: At least two security personnel were killed and seven others injured Wednesday morning in a suicide attack on a Frontier Corps (FC) checkpost on Bannu-Mir Ali Road in North Waziristan tribal agency, DawnNews reported.

Security officials and Pakistan Army's Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) sources confirmed the casualties.

A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the Shawa checkpost situated on the Bannu-Mir Ali Road. Subsequently, two security personnel were killed whereas seven others sustained injuries.

Following the attack, security personnel cordoned off the site of incident and a curfew was also imposed in the area.

A little known shadowy group, Ansarul Mujahideen, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The spokesman for Ansarul Mujahideen, Abu Baseer, said their group had targeted the FC checkpost.

He told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location that the attack was in revenge for the death of Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a US drone strike in early November.

North Waziristan is one of the seven regions in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) governed by tribal laws. An extremist insurgency led by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) plagues the region and the area is known to be infested with militants, including those from Al Qaeda and other armed extremist organisations.

The region also comes under attacks from US drones frequently which target militant hideouts in the area.

The region is chiefly off-limits to reporters because of security worries and government restrictions due to which reliable casualty figures are difficult to acquire from there.

Security personnel repulse attack in Swabi; four militants killed

At least four militants were killed Wednesday during an exchange of fire with security forces’ personnel in Swabi, DawnNews reported.

According to the District Police Officer (DPO), twelve militants attacked the Natian police checkpost in Swabi. Security personnel repulsed the attack and during an exchange of fire between the two sides, four militants were killed.

Swabi is the hometown of the new Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ameer Khalid Haqqani and presently also the acting ameer of the TTP in the absence of Mullah Fazlullah who is in Afghanistan.