Suicide bomb attack on police checkpoint in Pakistan kills at least 11
A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 11 people and wounding around 30. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility.
At least 11 people were killed on Saturday when a suicide bomber struck a roadside police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, a city in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, authorities said.
Police said the attacker detonated a vehicle packed with explosives at the checkpoint. Around 30 other people were wounded, mostly security personnel and passersby, according to a police official, with some victims described as being in critical condition. Rescue 1122 emergency teams treated the injured at the scene before transporting them to hospital.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an Islamist militant group that targets the Pakistani state, claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Rising militant violence
The attack came just two days after clashes between Pakistani and Afghan forces along their shared southwestern border left at least 13 Afghan Taliban fighters dead. Pakistan has seen a marked increase in militant attacks in recent years, with many claimed by the TTP and the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group operating mainly in the neighboring Balochistan province.
The TTP is aligned with the Afghan Taliban, who returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban government of allowing TTP fighters to operate from Afghan territory and has called for tougher action against cross-border attacks — an accusation the Taliban deny.
The ongoing tensions have fueled cross-border strikes by both sides, including Pakistani airstrikes it says are aimed at militants on Afghan soil. China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are currently attempting to mediate a lasting peace agreement between the two neighboring countries.
