PESHAWAR: Militants rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a joint police and customs checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, according to police, killing at least 11 officials and wounding 18 others, most of them critically, as the country grapples with a surge in militant violence.

The attack in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province came amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan, with Islamabad carrying out strikes across the border this week after accusing Kabul of failing to act against militants it says operate from Afghan soil and launch attacks in Pakistan.

The Afghan Taliban deny the presence of armed groups on Afghan soil, saying militancy is Pakistan’s internal problem.

Speaking to Arab News by phone, Kaleem Khan, an official at Darazinda Police Station in D.I. Khan, said a heavy police contingent was rushed to the area after the incident.

“Upon reaching the site, it was found that terrorists rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the Aman Mela check post manned by police and customs,” he said.

“Initial information suggests that 11 officials were martyred on the spot while 18 others were shifted to Mufti Mehmood Hospital in D.I. Khan,” he added. “The death toll may rise as most of the injured are in critical condition.”

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack.

“Police and security officials launched a search operation immediately after the incident to trace the perpetrators,” Khan said.

Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in militant attacks in recent years, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where police and security forces have frequently been targeted.

D.I. Khan, which lies near the former militant stronghold of South Waziristan, has also been previously hit by militant violence. In December 2023, an explosives-laden vehicle was detonated at the entrance to a police station in the district, killing at least 23 security personnel.

Saturday’s attack came amid a renewed escalation between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border militancy.

Islamabad carried out airstrikes against what it described as militant hideouts in Afghanistan earlier this week following a deadly assault on a police compound in Kohat that killed 23 people, including 17 police officers and six civilians.

Pakistan has also reported drone incursions from Afghanistan, while Pakistani and Afghan Taliban forces have exchanged fire along their border in recent days.

The TTP is separate from but ideologically aligned with the Afghan Taliban, which returned to power in Kabul in 2021.