ISLAMABAD: Militants detonated a car bomb at a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan and opened fire on officers, killing at least 12 people and injuring five, officials said on Sunday.

The attack took place in the Fateh Khel area of Bannu, where a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a police checkpoint, followed by multiple militants storming the post, according to Bannu police official Muhammad Sajjad Khan.

He told reporters that 12 officers were confirmed dead, with one more missing. Gunmen then entered the police checkpost after the explosion and opened fire, officials said. They also reported that small drones were used during the assault.

A senior administrative official in Bannu said the militants used quadcopters along with heavy weapons. He added that while retreating, the attackers took police personnel and weapons from the station.

Bannu, located in Pakistan’s northwestern border province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has experienced increasing militant activity in recent years, part of a wider wave of violence in border regions.

The surge in militancy has strained ties between Islamabad and Kabul. The Taliban government in Kabul denies Pakistan’s accusations that Afghan territory is being used as a safe haven for militants.

However, relations between the two sides have worsened, including deadly exchanges such as Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan cities in recent months.