6 Pakistani security personnel killed in a checkpoint attack

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Armed men killed six Pakistani security personnel and wounded seven in a checkpoint attack in the country’s northwest, a police official said Saturday.

The assault happened in Kurram district, where fierce sectarian fighting has killed at least 130 people during the past few weeks. A ceasefire between the area’s Sunni and Shiite communities is holding and Saturday’s incident is not connected to the recent clashes.

Local official Saleem Khan said armed men attacked a Frontier Corps checkpoint in Bagam, 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Peshawar city. The wounded were taken to a military hospital. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Also Saturday, the military said operations against the Pakistani Taliban in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province had killed 22 militants in the past 24 hours.

The operations were in the districts of Tank, North Waziristan, and Thal. Six soldiers died in an intense exchange of fire during the Thal operation, the military said.