Six policemen, including a senior officer, were killed and about a dozen others injured when a large group of Taliban militants stormed a police check post on the outskirts of Peshawar city in northwest Pakistan, officials said on Monday.

Superintendent of police Khurshid Khan was among the policemen killed when militants targeted the check post at Mattani, a suburb of Peshawar, at about 1am on Sunday night.

The heavily armed militants attacked the posts with rockets and heavy weapons. The exchange of fire continued for nearly an hour, officials said.

Eleven injured policemen were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital. The check post and several police vehicles were damaged in the attack.

Areas on the outskirts of Peshawar have witnessed a string of bombings and militant attacks over the past few months.