At least 11 killed, several injured in blast targeting DI Khan police checkpost: Rescue 1122

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: At least 11 people were killed and 20 others injured when a police checkpost in Aman Mela near Dera Ismail Khan’s Darazinda was targeted in a bomb attack on Saturday, according to Rescue 1122 officials. The dead included eight men, two women and a child, Rescue 1122 said, adding that rescue teams were continuing relief operations at the site and recovering victims from the debris. Police said the incident occurred at the Aman Mela checkpost, located near Mughal Kot and Darazinda on the DI Khan-Quetta Road, close to the border between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Police further said bomb disposal teams had been dispatched to the site to determine the nature and cause of the explosion. Meanwhile, Rescue 1122 said 20 injured people had so far been provided initial medical assistance, with 18 of them referred to medical facilities in Darazinda and Mufti Mahmood Hospital in DI Khan for further treatment. The rescue service said more than 25 personnel, six ambulances and a fire vehicle were taking part in the relief operations. Rescue 1122 District Emergency Officer Muhammad Arif Khan had directed the deployment of four additional ambulances with staff from DI Khan to assist in the rescue operation and facilitate the evacuation of the injured. A Rescue 1122 spokesperson noted that their teams were on the site, but mobile phone services were unavailable in the area. The Aman Mela checkpost is used by police for security and checking along the DI Khan-Quetta route. KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi sought a report from senior officials on the incident and directed that every possible medical facility be provided to those injured. “The attack is a nefarious conspiracy by Fitna al-Hindustan Khawarij,” the governor said. The state refers to designated Balochistan-based groups as Fitna al Hindustan to highlight India’s role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan, and uses uses the term Fitna al Khawarij for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Rise in terrorism KP has witnessed an increase in terrorist activity in recent months, with law enforcement agencies and security forces being targeted, prompting authorities to intensify counterterrorism operations. Earlier this month, police said they foiled an attack by TTP terrorists on a checkpost in DI Khan’s Daraban area. No casualties were reported among the police personnel. On Sept 18, a major attack in the old Police Lines in KP’s Kohat claimed 23 lives and injured about 100 others. Eight terrorists were killed during an overnight clearance operation. In response to that and other terrorist incidents, Pakistan days later conducted “calibrated” airstrikes in the border region with Afghanistan against terrorist hideouts, with the government saying over 28 terrorists were eliminated. Mainland KP, excluding the merged districts, recorded 54 terrorist attacks in August compared with 36 in July, representing an increase of 50 per cent, according to monthly data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).

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