At least nine police personnel were killed in an attack on a security checkpoint in Hangu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, according to initial reports. Other sources later updated the death toll to at least 11.
Police personnel were injured in the attack.
The attack, which occurred on Wednesday night in Hangu district near the Afghanistan border, also left 28 police personnel injured. A deputy superintendent of police was among the dead, according to one report.
Police accused 'Fitna al Khawarij' — a term referring to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — of carrying out the assault. In retaliatory fire, 15 attackers were killed.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack and offered condolences to the families of the killed officials. Pakistan has seen a surge in attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.