Authorities say a suicide bomber backed by a group of gunmen rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the wall of a security post after troops signaled him 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. In a statement, the military said Tuesday the attackers overnight had sought to breach the checkpoint but were thwarted by security forces. It said troops later pursued and killed 12 “khwarij,” a term authorities use for the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP. It said the attack occurred Sunday night in Bajaur, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan border.
