DERA ISMAIL KHAN: At least 12 people were killed and 35 others injured on Saturday when a suicide attacker drove an explosives-laden tractor trolley into the Aman Mela police checkpost in Dera Ismail Khan’s Darazinda tehsil, officials said.
In a separate incident following the blast, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a Rescue 1122 ambulance transporting victims’ bodies, killing two rescue workers and seriously injuring a third.
Civilians Among Those Killed in Checkpost Bombing
DI Khan Regional Police Officer Ghulam Mubashir Maken confirmed the initial casualty figures and said none of those killed in the explosion belonged to the police or security forces.
The victims included a Customs official and civilians. According to the initial assessment, nine men, two women and a child lost their lives.
District Police Officer Ziauddin Ahmed confirmed that the explosion was a suicide attack. Police and rescue officials said the attacker rammed a tractor trolley packed with explosives into the checkpost.
The blast destroyed much of the police post and completely demolished a nearby house. Residents and local officials reported that the explosion could be heard from a considerable distance, while heavy gunfire was also heard afterward.
The Aman Mela checkpost is situated near Mughal Kot and Darazinda on the DI Khan–Quetta Road, close to the boundary between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Police use the post to monitor movement and conduct security checks along the route.
Rescue Operation Completed Despite Communication Difficulties
RPO Maken said 25 injured people were taken to the district headquarters hospital for treatment.
District Excise Officer Faheem Wazir confirmed that Excise Department personnel stationed at the checkpost had survived the attack.
A bomb disposal team was dispatched to inspect the scene and examine the nature of the explosion.
DPO Ahmed and the superintendent of police for the Saddar area arrived shortly after the blast to supervise rescue efforts.
Rescue 1122 personnel faced difficulties because mobile phone services were unavailable in the area. Despite the communication disruption, emergency teams continued searching the damaged site and evacuating casualties.
The rescue service later confirmed that its search, recovery and relief operation had concluded.
More than 25 rescue personnel, six ambulances and a fire vehicle participated in the response. District Emergency Officer Mohammad Arif Khan also ordered four additional ambulances and their crews to be sent from DI Khan to help transport the injured.
Two Rescue Workers Killed in Attack on Ambulance
The emergency response was further disrupted when unidentified attackers fired at a Rescue 1122 ambulance carrying bodies recovered from the blast site near Aman Mela.
Rescue 1122 identified the two workers killed in the shooting as Sharifullah and Imtiaz. A third worker, Anees, sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital after receiving immediate medical assistance.
Rescue teams continued transporting the victims and assisting those affected by the bombing despite the attack on their colleagues.
State broadcaster Radio Pakistan attributed the ambulance attack to Fitna al Khawarij, the designation used by the Pakistani state for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. It also reported that security forces were conducting an operation against those responsible.
KP Leaders Condemn Attack, Call for Action
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi condemned the violence in a video statement and referred to the funds allocated to the provincial police in the KP budget.
He renewed his call for a change in the federal government’s counterterrorism policy.
Meanwhile, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi requested a report from senior officials and directed authorities to ensure that the injured received all available medical assistance.
The governor attributed the attack to what he described as Fitna al-Hindustan Khawarij.
