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At least 11 people were killed and 20 others injured in an explosion at a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan on Saturday, officials said.
The incident occurred at a checkpoint near the border between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, according to local newspaper Dawn.
The dead included eight men, two women and a child, Rescue 1122 said, adding that rescue teams were continuing operations at the site and recovering victims from the debris.
Several people, including police officers, customs personnel and two civilians, were injured, police said.
Bomb disposal teams were sent to the site to determine the cause of the explosion.
The checkpoint is used by police for security checks along the Dera Ismail Khan-Quetta route.
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Saifullah Khan, a Dera Ismail Khan police official, told AFP that the attack on the security checkpoint, jointly operated by police, military and customs personnel, took place “around noon.”
“A suspected suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the checkpoint, killing 11 people,” he said.
Bilal Faizi from Rescue 1122 told AFP that teams had recovered 11 bodies following “the militant attack,” adding that 18 others were wounded.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Earlier this month, at least 31 people, including 16 police personnel, were killed in an explosion and gun attack at a police headquarters in Kohat, a town of around 220,000 people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Pakistan has blamed the increase in attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southern border province of Balochistan on militancy emanating from Afghanistan, where the Taliban government denies Afghan involvement.
The accusations have sparked a bitter rift and armed conflict between the neighboring countries, and Pakistan has carried out deadly airstrikes it says target militants on Afghan soil.
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