On Tuesday, December 12, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the main gate of a police station in northwest Pakistan, causing significant casualties and structural damage. The event led to the deaths of at least 23 security officers, with at least 32 more sustaining injuries. The number of casualties is expected to rise as some officers are in critical condition.
The city of Dera Ismail Khan, situated in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, was the scene of the attack. The province has previously been a stronghold for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants. Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a group believed to be an offshoot of TTP, has been identified as the attackers. The group claimed responsibility for targeting the police station’s officers.
Subsequent to the bombing, an intense firefight broke out. Security forces engaged with six militants in a gun battle that lasted several hours. The military also reported that 27 insurgents were killed in related operations across the region.
The Daraban police station, which suffered the attack, had been a key location for security operations. Forces from across the country were stationed there, conducting intelligence-driven operations against militants, in collaboration with the local police.
The attack has been publicly condemned by Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi and caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti. President Alvi offered condolences to the families of the officers killed and asserted the security forces’ determination to continue their efforts. Minister Bugti denounced the incident as a terrorist act.
This latest attack is part of a larger pattern of increased militant activity in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. A notable incident earlier in the year involved a suicide bombing at a mosque in Peshawar, killing at least 101 people, mainly police officers. The Pakistani Taliban’s attacks on security forces have intensified since their allies, the Afghan Taliban, took control of Afghanistan in 2021.
Dera Ismail Khan’s location near South Waziristan, a previous militant stronghold, is significant. The Pakistan army has been actively pursuing militants in this region, especially following a tragic attack on an army-run school in 2014, which resulted in over 150 deaths, mostly children.