Pakistani security forces kill 12 militants near Afghanistan

PESHWAR, Pakistan – A government administrator says dozens of suspected militants have attacked a Pakistani security post along the Afghan border, sparking a gun battle in which 12 insurgents were killed.

The official, Javed Khan, says the attack took place before dawn Thursday at Mangaro post in the northwestern Kurram tribal region.

He says security forces suffered no casualties, and that the attack was repulsed with the attackers fleeing toward Afghanistan.

Afghanistan and Pakistan share a 2,250-kilometer (1,400-mile) border and militants from both sides routinely launch cross-border attacks before fleeing back over the border. Much of the border area is remote and off limits to reporters.

Also Thursday, police officer Jamshed Khan said a bomb targeting police at a checkpoint near the northwestern city of Peshawar killed a police officer.