Six Pakistani soldiers killed in a Taliban checkpoint attack in Kurram, escalating border tensions with Afghanistan.
PESHAWAR: Pakistani Taliban militants stormed a security checkpoint in the country’s northwestern border area, killing six soldiers and wounding four others.
A government official in Kurram district said the attack occurred late Monday, involving more than a dozen armed men.
“Six security personnel were martyred and four were injured, while two militants were also killed in the fighting,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the assault in the tribal district of Kurram.
Pakistan has faced a surge in militant attacks along its border regions since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021.
It accuses the Afghan Taliban authorities of sheltering TTP militants and allowing cross-border attacks, a charge Kabul denies.
The border between the two countries has been closed since clashes in October, though Pakistan recently said it would allow UN aid supplies to pass through.
This latest attack follows an exchange of gunfire and shelling at a major border crossing days earlier that killed four civilians and one soldier, according to Afghanistan.
Each side had accused the other of starting that fighting.
