At least 11 security personnel were killed and 20 others injured after a bomb exploded near a military checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to reports. The attack comes days after a deadly assault on Kohat Police Lines, as Pakistan faces another spell of militant violence across its northwestern region near the Afghan border.
The Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, claimed responsibility for the Dera Ismail Khan attack in a public statement, according to reports.
Details about the type of explosive used and how the attackers targeted the checkpoint were not immediately clear. Pakistani authorities had also not released a full account of the incident at the time of writing.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hit by repeated attacks
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has faced repeated militant attacks, with police, military personnel and government facilities among the targets. Dera Ismail Khan and other districts close to the Afghan border have seen frequent violence involving armed groups.
The TTP has been behind many attacks on Pakistani security forces. The group is separate from Afghanistan’s Taliban but has ideological and historical links with it.
Pakistan has accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of allowing TTP fighters to operate from Afghan territory. Kabul has repeatedly rejected the accusation.
Dera Ismail Khan blast follows deadly Kohat attack
The latest bombing comes just over a week after a major attack on the Police Lines compound in Kohat on September 18.
An explosives-laden vehicle was driven into the Old Police Lines gate during Friday prayers. Armed attackers then tried to enter the compound, leading to a gun battle with police and security forces.
Later reports from Pakistani officials put the Kohat death toll at at least 21, including 15 police personnel and six civilians. More than 100 people were injured.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed said an explosives-laden vehicle had been rammed into the Old Police Lines before the blast. Security forces later carried out a clearance operation inside the compound.
The attacks come as Pakistani forces conduct operations against armed groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and along the border with Afghanistan.
Pakistan has also carried out strikes against suspected militant positions across the Afghan border. On September 21, Islamabad said its strikes in Afghanistan had killed 28 militants. Afghan authorities said civilians were also killed, while the United Nations confirmed three civilian deaths.
The continuing attacks inside Pakistan and military action along the border have added to tensions between Islamabad and Afghanistan’s Taliban government.
