A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a security post in Pakistan, killing 12 soldiers and wounding several others, officials said Wednesday.

Militants rammed the vehicle into the perimeter wall of the outpost in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, damaging the adjoining infrastructure during Tuesday's attack, the military said in a statement.

"A sanitization operation is being conducted in the area, and the perpetrators of this heinous act will be brought to justice," the statement said, adding that six militants had also been killed in the incident.

The military did not say who was behind the attack, but Hafiz Gul Bahadur, an Islamist militant group, claimed responsibility.

'TTP have expanded their operations'

Pakistan has seen a steady rise in violence since November 2022, when the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), ended a monthslong cease-fire with the government in Islamabad.

Abdullah Khan, a senior defense analyst and managing director of the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, said over 900 security forces have been killed in militant attacks in Pakistan since the renewal of hostilities.

"TTP and other groups have expanded their operations, showing they are getting more recruits, money and weapons," Khan said while emphasizing the need for political stability in Pakistan to defeat the insurgents.

Pakistan has experienced a political crisis since 2022, when then-Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote.

Khan was arrested in May 2023 and imprisoned. His supporters have been protesting on a regular basis, demanding his release.

jsi/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)