PESHAWAR: At least 14 security personnel and a government official were martyred while repulsing a terrorist attack on a joint security checkpost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district, the military’s media wing said on Friday.

In a statement, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the attack took place in the early hours of Friday, and was carried out by Fitna al-Khawarij, a term the state uses for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

The attackers attempted to breach the checkpost’s perimeter, but the attempt was “swiftly and decisively foiled by the vigilant and resolute response of security forces”.

Security personnel deployed at the checkpost displayed “unwavering courage and professional excellence” and engaged and eliminated 12 terrorists, the ISPR added.

ISPR says 12 terrorists eliminated in swift, decisive response

The statement said the attackers then rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the perimeter wall.

“Due to the blast impact, infrastructure at the checkpost was seriously damaged; resultantly, 15 brave sons of the soil, including 12 military, two policemen and a government official from the ex-forest department, rendered the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat,” the statement said.

ISPR said a sanitisation operation was under way to track down any other terrorists in the area.

It said the “relentless counterterrorism campaign under vision Azm-i-Istehkam”, approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, would continue at full pace to eliminate “foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism” from the country.

“These sacrifices of our brave soldiers further reinforce our unwavering commitment to safeguarding our nation at all costs,” the ISPR said.

Last week, security forces killed 24 terrorists in KP’s Bannu district and adjoining areas, the ISPR said in a statement.

It said there had been a recent “surge” in terrorist activities against police and in suicide bombings in Bannu. “Security forces have initiated extensive joint intelligence-based operations to hunt the perpetrators of these heinous attacks and their support infrastructure,” it said.

KP has seen a rise in terrorist attacks over the past year. According to the Annual Security Report 2025 from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), KP recorded a significant surge in violence last year as “fatalities rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025”.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2026