Suicide Blast at Dera Ismail Khan Police Checkpost in KP Kills 11

A suicide bomber drove a vehicle packed with explosives into the Aman Mela police checkpost in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Saturday 26 September 2026. State broadcaster Radio Pakistan said the Dera Ismail Khan attack killed 11 people and injured more than 30.

Hours later, gunmen fired on a Rescue 1122 ambulance carrying the injured and killed two rescue workers, Radio Pakistan said. Security forces have sealed the area and started a search operation.

The toll may change. Some of the injured are critical, and early figures from officials quoted in the press do not match. We mark below what is official and what is only reported.

A vehicle bomb hit the Aman Mela checkpost in Darazinda

The blast hit the Aman Mela checkpost in the Darazinda area of Dera Ismail Khan district. It sits on the DI Khan to Quetta road, near the Balochistan border. Police use it to check traffic and stop smuggling on that route.

Radio Pakistan called it a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, meaning a bomb built into a vehicle. Police and rescue officials quoted in the press said it was a tractor trolley. We have not seen that in an official statement.

A Press Information Department release calls the site the Customs joint check post at Aman Mela. So police and Customs staff worked there together.

Radio Pakistan puts the toll at 11 killed, but reports differ

Radio Pakistan reported 11 killed and more than 30 injured. Citing sources, it said the dead included six police, two Customs officials, two women and a two-year-old child. Press reports quoting the regional police officer say 12 died and 35 were hurt.

Reports also differ on who died. One quotes the regional police officer saying no law enforcement staff were among the dead. Another quotes him saying six police and one Customs official died. No official document settles this yet, so we give both.

Radio Pakistan blamed Fitna al Khawarij, the state's term for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The press reports that the TTP claimed the attack. We have not seen official confirmation of the claim.

Gunmen fired on an ambulance carrying the injured

Two Rescue 1122 workers were killed when attackers fired on their ambulance, Radio Pakistan said. The ambulance was taking injured civilians from Darazinda to Dera Ismail Khan city. A third rescue worker was hurt, according to press reports.

Rescue crews are unarmed. The work Rescue 1122 does covers ambulances, fire and disasters, and on Saturday it meant driving back into an area where firing had been heard.

The day unfolded in this order, from official and reported accounts:

1. A vehicle bomb rams the Aman Mela checkpost.
2. Police, Rescue 1122 and a bomb disposal team reach the site.
3. The injured are moved to hospital, 25 of them reportedly to the DHQ Hospital.
4. Gunmen fire on an ambulance, killing two rescue workers.
5. Security forces cordon off the area and start a search operation.

President and Prime Minister condemn the attack

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack in separate statements, Radio Pakistan reported. The President told institutions to give the injured the best medical care and to make relief work more effective.

The Prime Minister said the sacrifices of the nation's defenders would not go in vain. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb condemned the attack on the Customs post in a Press Information Department release.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned it, and the Governor asked officials for a report, according to the press. We could not find those two statements on an official website.

No official travel advisory for the DI Khan to Quetta road

We found no official travel advisory for the DI Khan to Quetta road or the district as of Saturday night. The attack was on that road, not on the Indus Highway. Expect checks and delays near Darazinda while the search operation runs.

Mobile service near the site was reported to be down during the rescue, so calls may not connect.

If you must travel, ask the police first on 15. For an ambulance, call 1122. Other numbers are in the list of emergency and helpline numbers in Pakistan. Please do not share photos or videos of the victims.

The blast came eight days after the Kohat Police Lines attack

Saturday's blast came eight days after an attack on the old Police Lines in Kohat on 18 September. More than 20 people died there, most of them police, according to press reports. Figures in those reports differ, so we give no exact number.

Earlier this month, police in Dera Ismail Khan said they stopped an attack on a checkpost in Daraban, the press reported. We looked for a 2026 attack count from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police or its Counter Terrorism Department and found none published.

Common questions

How many people were killed in the Dera Ismail Khan attack?

Radio Pakistan said 11 were killed and more than 30 injured. Some reports quoting police say 12. Two rescue workers also died in the ambulance attack.

Where did the Dera Ismail Khan blast happen?

At the Aman Mela police checkpost in Darazinda, on the DI Khan to Quetta road near the Balochistan border.

Who was behind the attack?

Radio Pakistan blamed Fitna al Khawarij, meaning the banned TTP. The TTP claim is reported but not officially confirmed.

Is the Indus Highway closed after the attack?

We found no official closure or advisory. The attack was on the DI Khan to Quetta road.

What number do I call for help in Dera Ismail Khan?

Call 1122 for an ambulance and 15 for the police.

Last checked and sources

Last checked on 26 September 2026 at about 23:00 PKT. The toll of 11 killed and more than 30 injured, the breakdown of the dead, the vehicle bomb, the cordon and search, the ambulance attack and the President's and Prime Minister's statements are from three Radio Pakistan reports of that day. The Finance Minister's statement is from Press Information Department release No. 294. The figure of 12 dead and 35 injured, the tractor trolley, the conflicting accounts of who died, the TTP claim, the Interior Minister's and Governor's statements, the Kohat and Daraban events and the mobile outage are reported in the press only. We will update this as officials release final figures.