Blast at Dera Ismail Khan Checkpost Kills at Least 11

An explosives-laden vehicle struck a joint police and customs checkpost in Aman Mela, in Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan district, on September 26, killing at least 11 people and injuring others, according to emergency and police officials. Later reports put the toll at 13 dead, including the bomber, and 30 injured, though the accounts reflect casualty updates at different stages and do not establish a final count. Regional police chief Khan Mubashir Malik said a suicide bomber drove a tractor-trolley loaded with explosives into the checkpost in the Darazinda area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Police said bomb-disposal teams were sent to examine the site and determine the nature of the explosives. Security forces cordoned off the area and began a search operation, while an investigation was under way. Rescue 1122 initially reported 11 deaths and 20 injuries. Later accounts attributed to officials raised those figures to 13 killed and 30 injured. One official said the dead included six excise and customs officials, two police officers, two women and two children, as well as the bomber. The injured were taken for medical treatment, according to the reports.