At least 12 people, including two women and two children, were killed and 18 others injured when a suicide bomber belonging to the banned terror outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan targeted a police checkpost in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, an official said.
PESHAWAR — At least 12 people, including two women and two children, were killed and 18 others injured when a suicide bomber belonging to the banned terror outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan targeted a police checkpost in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, an official said.
According to Pakistan's national emergency response service Rescue 1122, the incident occurred in Darazinda tehsil of Dera Ismail Khan district, near the border between the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.
The suicide bomber rammed a tractor-trolley loaded with explosives into the Aman Mela police checkpost, Regional Police Officer Khan Mubashir Malik said.
Twelve people were killed, and 18 others sustained injuries in the attack, he added.
According to police, two officials from the customs and excise department were among those killed.
The injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital for treatment, while the bodies of the deceased were also taken there.
Bomb disposal teams were dispatched to the site to determine the nature of the explosives used in the attack, police said.
Security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation following the attack, while further investigation was underway.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has faced recurring unrest over the years driven by militant violence, cross-border movement of fighters from Afghanistan and repeated military operations.
The federal government has accused the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan of carrying out attacks in the province since the militant group ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.