At least 11 people were killed in a blast in Dera Ismail Khan city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, officials said. 30 others sustained injuries in the incident, which took place at a roadside police checkpoint, Reuters news agency cited Pakistan’s emergency service Rescue 1122 as saying.
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, the Associated Press reported. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks in recent years, with several of them claimed by the TTP and the Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA.
Explosives-laden vehicle detonated
A suicide bomber allegedly detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the checkpoint, triggering the blast, police and rescue officials said, according to the Associated Press.
The deceased and those who sustained injuries were being taken to a nearby hospital following the blast, with some of the injured in critical condition, a spokesman for the provincial emergency service told AP.
Visuals show massive cloud of grey smoke
Videos of the incident being circulated on social media platforms showed a cloud of grey smoke rising from the alleged site of the explosion. HT could not independently verify the videos.
One of the visuals, taken from the site itself, showed the smoke from a closer angle, with bricks and other materials seen strewn about around the spot where the incident allegedly took place.
