Pakistan26 September, 20262 min read
Suicide Bomber Detonates Explosives-Laden Vehicle at Dera Ismail Khan Police Checkpoint, Killing At Least 12
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Explosives-laden vehicle detonated at a roadside police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan. At least 11–12 people killed and about 30 wounded.
Checkpoint blast kills 12
A suicide bombing hit a roadside police checkpoint in the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 12 people and wounding 30, police told Al Jazeera. Rescue 1122 said its teams from the Darazinda station reached the scene near Aman Mela in the Darazinda area and began relief operations, providing medical assistance to the wounded and taking them to hospital. AP reported that a suicidebomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the checkpoint, killing at least 11 people and wounding about 30 others, with Bilal Faizi saying the attack occurred in Dera Ismail Khan.
Police chief Safdar Baloch said most of those killed and wounded were security personnel and passersby, and officers, customs officials and members of the forest department were among the dead. Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid said an explosives-laden vehicle was rammed into the checkpoint, and he also reported that there were reports the blast was preceded by gunfire from assailants.
TTP claims, officials react
The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, AP said. Al Jazeera reported that suspicion fell on the Pakistan Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, and it said no group immediately claimed responsibility. Safdar Baloch said most of those killed and wounded were security personnel and passersby, and police said the injured included police officers, customs personnel and at least two civilians.
AP said Pakistani officials have repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing TTP members to operate from Afghan soil and have demanded that Kabul prevent cross-border attacks into Pakistan. DW said the Pakistani Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility in a statement, and it described the blast as happening just two days after fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan along their southwestern border killed at least 13 members of the Afghan Taliban.
Border escalation and mediation
The latest attack came two days after fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan along their southwestern border killed at least 13 Afghan Taliban fighters, according to Pakistan’s government, Al Jazeera said. Al Jazeera also said the renewed hostilities threaten mediation efforts by China, Turkiye, Qatar and Saudi Arabia aimed at securing lasting peace between the two countries. AP said the latest escalation followed Pakistani strikes on alleged militant hideouts inside Afghanistan this week, and it described the attack as a sign of increasing violence in the region bordering Afghanistan.
DW said the blast happened in Dera Ismail Khan, the country’s 10th largest city, and it reported that around 30 others were wounded, mostly security personnel and passersby. Al Jazeera reported that Dera Ismail Khan sits at the crossroads of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces, and it said the heavy flow of goods means customs officials are deployed alongside police to prevent smuggling.