DI Khan attacks: 12 killed at Darazinda checkpost, 2 rescuers shot on ambulance

Update, Saturday 26 September 2026, 10:45pm PKT: two Rescue 1122 workers killed as gunmen fire on an ambulance carrying the wounded. A Rescue 1122 ambulance taking people injured in the Darazinda blast to Dera Ismail Khan came under gunfire on the way, killing two rescue workers, ARY News, Daily Pakistan and Pakistan Observer reported. Their names had not been released by Saturday night. With the checkpost blast, at least 14 people have now died in Saturday's attacks, by Dawn's count of 12 at the checkpost, and several of the more than 30 wounded are in critical condition. Security forces were still carrying out an operation in the area.

The attack on the ambulance makes the Darazinda to DI Khan road more dangerous than usual tonight. If a relative is among the injured, call Rescue 1122 on 1122 or Mufti Mahmood Hospital in DI Khan rather than driving out to Darazinda.

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A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden tractor trolley into the Aman Mela checkpost in Darazinda tehsil of Dera Ismail Khan on Saturday 26 September 2026, killing 12 people and injuring about 30, Dawn reported, citing Regional Police Officer Ghulam Mubashir Maken. Geo News and ARY News put the toll at 11 and said it could rise, with several of the wounded in critical condition.

The checkpost, on the DI Khan-Quetta Road near the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Balochistan border, is an anti-smuggling post shared by police and customs. The blast destroyed a large part of it and flattened a house next to it.

Who was killed

According to Geo News and ARY News, the dead include six police personnel, two customs officials, two women and a two-year-old child. Dawn reported eight men, two women and a child among the dead in its first count. The injured are police and customs staff and passers-by.

Rescue and hospitals

Rescue 1122 sent more than 25 staff, six ambulances and a fire vehicle, later adding four more ambulances, Dawn reported. Eighteen of the injured were taken to hospitals in Darazinda and to Mufti Mahmood Hospital in DI Khan. Security forces cordoned off the area and began a search operation.

If you are looking for a relative who was travelling on the DI Khan-Quetta Road on Saturday, Rescue 1122 (dial 1122) and the DI Khan police control room are the first numbers to call. Hospitals in the city usually appeal for blood donors after an attack of this size; check Mufti Mahmood Hospital's own announcements before going.

What officials said

• Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the suicide attack and said the nation's resolve against terrorism was firm, Dawn reported.
• KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi blamed militant groups and ordered full medical help for the injured.
• Security sources quoted by Geo News and ARY News blamed the "Khawarij", the state's term for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and said the choice of an anti-smuggling post pointed to links between militants and smugglers. No group had claimed the attack by Saturday evening.

A second mass-casualty attack in KP in nine days

The Darazinda bombing comes eight days after the 18 September attack on Kohat Police Lines, which killed 23 people (our latest on Kohat). Darazinda sits on the main road link between southern KP and Zhob in Balochistan, a route used by passenger coaches and goods traffic; Balochistan is already under a Section 144 order until 22 October (details).

If you travel this route: expect extra checks and possible closures on the DI Khan-Zhob stretch over the next few days. Call the motorway police helpline 130 or your transport company before setting off, and carry your original CNIC, since checkposts on this road ask for it.

We will update this story as the toll and the investigation develop.