‘Islamic State’ militants claim attack on Pak-Afghan border

Former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants who have pledged allegiance to Islamic State said on Sunday they had attacked a paramilitary checkpoint along the Afghan border, in the first such assault claimed by a former faction of the TTP in several months.

A militant affiliated with the faction told Reuters the group attacked Damadola district of the Bajaur tribal area, where the military has been battling a militant insurgency since 2007.

“Our men destroyed the post, set it on fire and left it after our operation was complete,” he said by telephone.

Two Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed a checkpoint had been attacked, but there were no casualties.

Although the Pakistani government says that Islamic State, a group founded in Syria and Iraq in 2013, does not have a credible presence in the country, several smaller militant groups and factions of the Pakistani Taliban have, however, pledged allegiance to Islamic State and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi since last year.

So far, Islamic State has not formally accepted any of those pledges, nor has its central leadership claimed responsibility for any attacks carried out in Pakistan.