At least 12 Pakistan Army personnel were killed and 10 others critically injured in a suicide attack on a security check post in MaliKhel in Bannu District of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

As per Pakistan’s military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the deadly attack took place last night. It said, attackers rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the post’s wall, causing significant casualties. ISPR also stated that the six assailants who attacked the post were neutralised during an exchange of fire with the security forces.

The attack comes at a critical time when Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces are seeing a major surge in targeted attacks on security forces.

The latest attack in Bannu district comes only a day after a similar attack was carried out on a paramilitary border post in Balochistan in which at least seven soldiers were killed.