At least seven soldiers have been killed in Pakistan after militants attacked a military post in North Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.

“The terrorists rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the post, followed by multiple suicide bombing attacks, which led to [the] collapse of [a] portion of a building,” Pakistan’s military said.

Five soldiers were killed in the initial blast and another two in the ensuing gun battle.

The military said six attackers, some wearing bomb vests, were also killed in the firefight.

Concerns that militants are regrouping in the area

A newly formed militant group, Jaish-e-Fursan-e Muhammad, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and paid tribute to the troops who were “martyred.”

Attacks by militant groups in its border regions with Afghanistan have been on the rise, ever since the Islamist militant group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) withdrew from a cease-fire in 2022.

Islamabad many of the attacks were launched from Afghanistan. The Taliban in Afghanistan has repeatedly denied this.

lo/sms (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)