At least 12 people have been killed and 30 wounded in a suicide bombing at a roadside police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on Saturday, according to local police. Most of the casualties are reported to be security personnel, including police officers, customs officials, and members of the forest department. Witnesses reported hearing gunshots following the explosion.
The blast occurred near Aman Mela in the Darazinda area, as stated by Rescue 1122, which dispatched teams to provide medical assistance and transport the injured to hospitals. Police chief Safdar Baloch confirmed that the injured included police officers, customs personnel, and at least two civilians.
Al Jazeera correspondent Osama Bin Javaid reported that an explosives-laden vehicle was driven into the checkpoint, which is considered a significant target due to the presence of a large number of officials stationed there. The area is strategically located at the crossroads of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab provinces, necessitating the deployment of customs officials alongside police to combat smuggling.
The district is also near South Waziristan, a region known for armed attacks and military operations by Pakistani forces over the past decade. The Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which has been linked to several recent attacks, has not claimed responsibility for this incident, but suspicion has fallen on the group. The TTP is distinct from the Afghan Taliban, which regained power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Pakistan has experienced a rise in armed attacks in recent years, many attributed to the TTP and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group active in Balochistan province. Pakistani officials have accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing TTP members to operate from Afghan territory, a claim that Kabul has denied.
The Pakistani government has not publicly outlined its response to this attack, but it has historically employed a strategy of security cordons and counteroffensives, including cross-border strikes against those deemed responsible in Afghanistan. This attack follows recent clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border that reportedly resulted in the deaths of at least 13 Afghan Taliban fighters, escalating tensions between the two nations and complicating ongoing mediation efforts by China, Turkiye, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia for peace.