A terrorist attack on a joint police checkpost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district last night martyred 15 people, including 14 security personnel, the military’s media wing said on Friday. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the attack took place early on Friday and was carried out by Fitna-al-Khawarij — a term used to designate members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. “The assailants sought to breach the check post security; however, their nefarious designs were swiftly and decisively foiled by the vigilant and resolute response of security forces,” the statement read. “Displaying unwavering courage and professional excellence, troops engaged the fleeing khawarij with precision, eliminating 12 khawarij.” The statement added that the attackers rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the perimeter wall. “Due to [the] blast impact, infrastructure at [the] checkpost was seriously damaged; resultantly, 15 brave sons of [the] soil, including 12 military, two policemen and a government official ex forest department, rendered the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat (martyrdom),” the statement read. ISPR added that a sanitisation operation was ongoing to track down any other terrorists in the area, vowing that under the “relentless counter-terrorism campaign under vision ‘Azm-i-Istehkam’ (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country”. “These sacrifices of our brave soldiers further reinforce our unwavering commitment to safeguarding our nation at all costs,” ISPR said. More to follow