PESHAWAR: At least 14 security personnel and a government official were martyred while repulsing a terrorist attack on a joint security checkpost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa`s Tank district, the military`s media wing said on Friday.

In a statement, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the attack took place in the early hours of Friday, and was carried out by Fitna al-Khawarij, a term the state uses for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

The attackers attempted to breach the checkpost`s perimeter, but the attempt was `swiftly and decisively foiled by the vigilant and resolute response of security forces`.

Security personnel deployed at the checkpost displayed `unwavering courage and professional excellence` and engaged and eliminated12 terrorists, the ISPR added.

The statement said the attackers then rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the perimeter wall.`Due to the blast impact, infrastructure at the checkpost was seriously damaged; resultantly, 15 brave sons of the soil, including 12 military, two policemen and a government official from the ex-forest department, rendered the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat,` the statement said.

ISPR said a sanitisation operation was under way to track down any other terrorists in the area.

It said the `relentless counterterrorism campaign undervision Azm-i-Istehkam`, approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, would continue at full pace to eliminate `foreignsponsored and supported terrorism` from the country.

`These sacrifices of our brave soldiers further reinforce our unwavering commitment to safeguarding our nation at all costs, the ISPR said.

Last week, security forces killed 24 terrorists in KP`s Bannu district and adjoining areas, the ISPR said in a statement.

It said there had been a recent `surge` in terrorist activities against police and in suicide bombings in Bannu. `Security forces have initiated extensive joint intelligence-based operations to hunt the perpetrators of these heinous attacks and their support infrastructure,` it said.

KP has seen a rise in terrorist attacks over the past year.

According to the Annual Security Report 2025 from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), KP recorded a significant surge in violence last year as `fatalities rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025`.