Suicide Bombing Kills 12 at Pakistan Checkpoint Near Balochistan
The blast struck a checkpoint positioned near the boundary separating Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, according to local officials.
DI Khan district police officer Ziauddin Ahmed identified the attack as a suicide bombing, saying an unidentified assailant drove the explosive-laden vehicle directly into the checkpoint.
Regional Police Officer Ghulam Mubashir Maken said a preliminary review found that none of the victims were police or security personnel. Instead, the dead included a customs official and a mix of civilians — nine men, two women, and one child — according to Pakistani newspaper Dawn.
The force of the explosion tore through the checkpoint structure and leveled a nearby house. Witnesses reported sustained gunfire in the chaotic aftermath.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack in sharp terms. "Making innocent citizens and law enforcement personnel a target of terrorism is highly condemnable," he said.
The targeted checkpoint forms part of the security screening network along the DI Khan-Quetta route, a corridor police rely on to monitor movement between the two provinces.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
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