Ten police were shot dead at a check post near the Afghan border, officials said Friday, in an attack claimed by the banned terrorist organisation.

“The intense exchange of fire lasted for nearly an hour. Ten Frontier Constabulary personnel were martyred, and seven were wounded during the attack,” a senior intelligence officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

About 20 to 25 militants launched a heavy assault on a post of the Frontier Constabulary, a police assistance force, in the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Pakistan has seen an increase in militancy since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021, with the Pakistani chapter of the movement carrying out attacks mostly targeting security forces.

A senior official from the Frontier Constabulary also confirmed the details on the condition of anonymity.

The attack was around 70 kilometre (around 43 miles) east of Afghan border.

One policeman was killed in a separate attack carried out on Thursday night, also close to the Afghan border in Khyber district.

Last month a police convoy escorting foreign ambassadors was targeted in road side blast that left a policeman dead.

The outlawed TTP historically has roots in Afghanistan and shares the same ideology as the Afghan Taliban.

Islamabad says such attacks are being launched from neighbouring Afghanistan by various militant groups, many linked to the TTP, which the Taliban authorities in Kabul deny.