At least ten Pakistani frontier police were killed in an insurgent attack on an outpost near the northwestern city of Dera Ismail Khan, police sources said.
Thursday's attack, claimed by Islamist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), comes as Pakistan battles a resurgence of militant attacks in its rugged northwest, as well as a growing ethnic separatist insurgency in the south.
Three senior police sources confirmed the attack, saying a large group of insurgents stormed the outpost, killing members of the frontier constabulary security force.
The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity as the matter is sensitive.
Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, chief minister of the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, confirmed the attack in a statement on Friday that condemned it but did not state the number of deaths.