International; Twelve security personnel and six terrorists were killed as a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a joint check post in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army said on Wednesday. The terrorists attempted to attack a joint check post in the general area MaliKhel in Bannu district late on Tuesday night but their attempt to enter the post was effectively thwarted by troops, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Army's media wing, said.

The suicide blast led to the collapse of a portion of the perimeter wall and damaged the adjoining infrastructure, resulting in the death of “12 brave sons of soil” including 10 soldiers of the security forces and two soldiers of the Frontier Constabulary, the ISPR said. In the ensuing fire exchange, six of them were killed too, it added. The injured persons have been shifted to a local hospital.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Centre stage of terrorism

A Sanitisation operation was being conducted and a curfew was imposed in the area. Security forces and law enforcement agencies said they are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism.

The country as a whole, but particularly the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, has seen a sharp uptick in terrorism-related incidents over the past year. According to a think tank Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the third quarter of the ongoing year witnessed a 90 per cent surge in violence in Pakistan, local media had reported earlier.

Pakistan "comprehensive military operation"

The attack comes a day after the country's civil and military leadership on Tuesday approved a "comprehensive military operation" against terrorist organisations in Balochistan in a move aimed at stemming the tide of militancy in the province that had seen several deadly attacks in recent months.

“The decision was taken by the Federal Apex Committee – a high-powered civil and military forum on counterterrorism. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the meeting, which was attended by the federal ministers, chief ministers, Army Chief Gen Syed Asim Munir and senior government officials,” newspaper The Express Tribune said.