A suicide bomber backed by a group of gunmen rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the wall of a security post after troops signaled for it to stop in a former Pakistani Taliban stronghold in northwestern Pakistan, causing part of the compound to collapse and killing 11 soldiers and a child, the military and police said Tuesday. The military said in a statement that the attackers overnight had sought to breach the checkpoint but were thwarted by security forces. It said troops later pursued and killed 12 “khawarij,” a term authorities use for the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP. It said the attack occurred Monday night in Bajaur, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan border. The military said nearby civilian homes were also heavily damaged in the blast, killing a young girl and wounding seven other civilians, including women and children.

Full report : Suicide bomber and gunmen kill 11 soldiers and a child in northwestern Pakistan.