Suicide attack kills 12 at Pakistan checkpoint
Twelve people were killed and 35 others injured in a suicide attack on a roadside checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, according to the country's official news agency.
The blast targeted the joint Aman Mela checkpoint in the Darazinda area of Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Footage showed ambulances transporting victims to Mufti Mahmood Memorial Teaching Hospital as security personnel deployed outside.
Resident Shahid Shirani said the victims were mostly civilians and travellers from Bannu and Balochistan. "In the Darazinda area, there is a police checkpoint, and there are often other personnel present there. A suicide attack was carried out at this checkpoint by unknown individuals," resident Shahid Shirani recounted.
The official news agency said nine men, two women and a child were among those killed.
The explosion heavily damaged the checkpoint and destroyed a nearby house, while heavy gunfire was reported following the blast.
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Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack. Pakistan's Interior Ministry described the targeted facility as a “designated anti-smuggling checkpoint”.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
