WEBDESK - NAYADAUR
At least 12 people were killed and 35 others injured on Saturday when a powerful explosion struck a joint anti-smuggling checkpoint near Aman Mela in the Darazinda area of Dera Ismail Khan, officials said. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.
Police said an explosives-laden vehicle was rammed into the checkpoint, causing a major blast. The dead included nine men, two women and a child, while one Customs official was among those killed. Police said no Pakistan Army or police personnel were among the deceased.
The checkpoint had been established for anti-smuggling operations along the Dera Ismail Khan-Quetta route. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfikar Hameed said police, security forces and Counter-Terrorism Department teams immediately reached the site after the explosion.
The area was cordoned off and a search and clearance operation was launched, while investigators began collecting evidence to establish the circumstances surrounding the attack.
Rescue 1122 teams from Darazinda, Karak and Hangu were involved in the emergency response. Additional ambulances and rescue personnel were sent to the area as efforts continued to recover victims and transport the injured to hospitals.
The emergency response was itself targeted. A Rescue 1122 ambulance transporting bodies from the blast site came under fire near Daraban. One rescue official, identified as Sharifullah, was killed while two others were seriously injured, according to the rescue service. Despite the attack, rescue operations continued.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi sought a report from senior officials and condemned the attack. He also criticized the firing on rescue workers transporting the bodies of those killed in the blast.
Pakistan Customs separately said 15 personnel from Customs, Excise and Police were killed in the attack, indicating that casualty figures from different authorities were not immediately consistent. The department said the explosives-laden vehicle caused a major fire at the checkpoint and that a second attack occurred while rescue operations were underway.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the bombing and expressed condolences to the families of those killed. Sharif said the government remained determined to combat terrorism, while Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the attack and the subsequent firing on the rescue ambulance.
K-P Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi described the incident as part of a renewed wave of terrorism in the province. He also repeated his criticism of past policies concerning the resettlement of militants and said his government had previously warned that such policies could contribute to renewed violence.
The bombing comes amid a recent increase in militant violence across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The source reported that 23 people, including 15 police personnel, were killed in a separate blast at a mosque in Kohat's Police Lines the previous week. It also reported subsequent clashes and Pakistani military operations targeting militant positions near the Afghan border.
The latest attack has added to security concerns in Dera Ismail Khan and other parts of K-P as authorities continue investigations and operations following the violence.