A suicide bombing at a roadside police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killed 12 people and wounded 35, according to Bilal Faizi, spokesman for the provincial emergency service.
The blast tore the checkpoint apart, and witnesses heard gunshots soon after. Safdar Baloch, the local police chief, said most of the casualties were security personnel and passersby.
As the emergency crew pulled victims toward a nearby hospital, gunmen fired into the ambulance, killing a rescue worker and injuring two others, Faizi reported.
The Tehrik‑e‑Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility, and President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, calling it "highly condemnable" and demanding intensified action.
The incident comes amid a surge of TTP‑linked attacks, including a December 2023 bombing that killed 23 security staff. A federal investigation has been ordered and security checkpoints are slated for tighter monitoring.