Pakistani security forces kill 12 militants near Afghanistan

PESHWAR, Pakistan – Dozens of suspected militants attacked a Pakistani security post along the Afghan border before dawn Thursday, sparking an hours-long gun battle in which 12 insurgents were killed, a local government administrator said.

Several militants were also wounded in the attack that took place at Mangaro post in the northwestern Kurram tribal region, said the official, Javed Khan. He said security forces suffered no casualties, and that the attack was repulsed with the attackers fleeing toward Afghanistan.

Afghanistan and Pakistan share a 2,250-kilometre (1,400-mile) border and militants from both sides routinely launch cross-border attacks before fleeing back over the border. Much of the border area is remote and off limits to reporters.

Also Thursday, a bomb targeting police at a checkpoint near the northwestern city of Peshawar killed a police officer, local police officer Jamshed Khan said. He said motive behind the attack was not known and that a search for the attackers was underway.

Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which borders Afghanistan.