DERA ISMAIL KHAN (MNN); At least 12 people were killed and 35 others injured on Saturday when an explosives-laden vehicle was rammed into the Aman Mela police checkpost in the Darazinda tehsil of Dera Ismail Khan, officials said.
The attack was followed by another incident in which unidentified assailants opened fire on a Rescue 1122 ambulance carrying bodies recovered from the blast site. Two rescue workers were killed and another was seriously injured.
DI Khan Regional Police Officer (RPO) Ghulam Mubashir Maken said the initial assessment confirmed 12 fatalities, including nine men, two women and a minor. He said no police or security personnel were among the dead, while a Customs official and civilians were among the victims.
District Police Officer (DPO) Ziauddin Ahmed confirmed that the explosion was a suicide attack. According to police and Rescue 1122 officials, an unidentified attacker drove an explosives-laden tractor-trolley into the checkpost.
The powerful blast severely damaged the Aman Mela checkpost and completely destroyed a nearby house. Residents said the explosion was heard from a considerable distance, followed by heavy gunfire.
The checkpost, located near Mughal Kot and Darazinda along the Dera Ismail Khan-Quetta Road, is used for security and checking vehicles travelling along the route and lies close to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Balochistan border.
RPO Maken said 25 injured people were shifted to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital. District Excise Officer Faheem Wazir said Excise personnel stationed at the checkpost remained safe.
A bomb disposal squad was dispatched to examine the site and determine the nature of the explosives used. DPO Ahmed and the Saddar Superintendent of Police reached the scene and supervised the rescue operation.
Rescue 1122 said more than 25 personnel, six ambulances and a fire vehicle participated in the relief operation. Four additional ambulances, along with staff, were sent from DI Khan on the directions of District Emergency Officer Mohammad Arif Khan to help evacuate the injured.
A Rescue 1122 spokesperson later said the search, recovery and relief operation at the site had been completed. Mobile phone services were reportedly unavailable in the area during the operation.
Two rescue workers killed in firing
Rescue 1122 said two of its workers, identified as Sharifullah and Imtiaz, were killed when an ambulance transporting bodies recovered from the blast site came under fire near Aman Mela. Another worker, Anees, sustained serious injuries and was shifted to hospital after receiving immediate medical treatment.
Despite the attack on the ambulance, rescue teams continued transporting the bodies and assisting the injured and affected residents.
State broadcaster Radio Pakistan attributed the attack to “Fitna al-Khawarij”, the term used by the state for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and reported that a security operation against the attackers was underway.
President, governor and political leaders condemn attack
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi sought a report from senior officials and directed authorities to ensure the provision of all possible medical facilities to the injured. He condemned the attack and referred to it as a conspiracy by “Fitna al-Hindustan Khawarij”.
President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the blast and expressed grief over the loss of lives. He directed authorities to provide the injured with the best possible medical treatment and called for relief operations to be strengthened.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the suicide attack at the Aman Mela anti-smuggling police checkpost and expressed condolences to the bereaved families. He said terrorist violence would not weaken the country’s resolve against terrorism and highlighted the sacrifices made by people across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari condemned the DI Khan attack, describing it as another reminder of the continuing terrorism threat. He expressed condolences to the families of those killed and prayed for the recovery of the injured.
Terrorist attacks increase in KP
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has witnessed a rise in terrorist incidents in recent months, with police, law-enforcement agencies and security personnel increasingly targeted.
Earlier this month, police said they had foiled an attempted attack by TTP militants on a checkpost in the Daraban area of DI Khan without casualties among police personnel.
On September 18, an attack on the old Police Lines in Kohat killed 23 people and injured around 100 others. Eight terrorists were subsequently killed during an overnight clearance operation.
Following that and other attacks, Pakistan later carried out what the government described as “calibrated” airstrikes in the border region with Afghanistan against militant hideouts, claiming that more than 28 terrorists were killed.
According to monthly data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), mainland Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, excluding the merged districts, recorded 54 terrorist attacks in August, compared with 36 in July — an increase of 50 per cent.