MIRAMSHAH: At least six security officials were killed and 18 others injured Saturday in a suicide attack on a check post near Miramshah, the agency headquarters of North Waziristan Agency, official sources said.

The officials said the suspected suicide bomber, driving a car, hit the Esha check post, damaging it completely.

The suicide car bombing resulted in the death of at least six soldiers while 18 others have been injured but the number of casualties may be high as the officials are saying that the situation is being assessed.

The security forces have cordoned off the area soon after the attack and launched a search operation. The locals say the explosion was followed by indiscriminate firing. However, it was not possible to ascertain who was behind firing the shots, they added.

North Waziristan, which is close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, is one of seven regions in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), governed by tribal laws.

An extremist insurgency led by the Pakistani Taliban plagues the region while the area is said to be infested with militants, including the al Qaeda, Taliban and other armed extremist organisations.