ISLAMABAD: An attack on a paramilitary checkpoint in northwest Pakistan killed at least seven security personnel and a child on Monday, officials said, the latest in a series of attacks in a region bordering Afghanistan.

Pakistan has witnessed a steady rise in attacks in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, with most violence targeting police and security forces in former tribal districts along the border.

Islamabad says the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group has reorganized across the frontier and operates from safe havens inside Afghanistan, a charge Kabul rejects, insisting it does not allow its territory to be used against other countries.

The latest attack struck a Frontier Corps (FC) post in the Mamond area of Bajaur district, destroying a small compound where security personnel were stationed.

“We have recovered seven dead bodies, one of them police, and two injured from the debris while search for other bodies is underway,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Niaz Mohammad told Arab News, describing the compound as “a structure comprising four to five rooms.”

Rescue teams continued operations to locate anyone trapped beneath the rubble, officials said.

Police did not comment on the nature of the attack but a statement from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister’s office described it as a suicide bombing and confirmed casualties among security personnel and a child.

“The martyrdom of security personnel and a child in the terrorist attack is extremely tragic,” the statement said, adding that emergency services had been instructed to speed up rescue efforts.

Authorities said operations against militants in the province would be intensified.

Districts along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, including Bajaur and Bannu, have repeatedly been targeted in bombings and assaults on security checkpoints since a fragile ceasefire between Islamabad and the TTP collapsed in late 2022. Security forces continue to conduct intelligence-based operations in the region, but patrols and outposts remain frequent targets.