2 rescue workers shot dead in an attack on an ambulance in Pakistan

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday strongly condemned a militant attack on an ambulance carrying victims of a suicide bombing in Dera Ismail Khan, which left two rescue workers dead.

Earlier in the day, a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden vehicle into the Aman Mela police and anti-smuggling checkpoint in the Darazinda area of Dera Ismail Khan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on the DI Khan–Quetta Road. The blast killed at least 11–13 people, including security personnel, customs officials, two women and a child, and injured around 30–35 others, according to police and Rescue 1122 officials. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistani authorities refer to the group as “Khawarij.”

As emergency teams responded, gunmen opened fire on a Rescue 1122 ambulance transporting the wounded from the blast site toward hospital. Two rescue workers were martyred in the shooting.

In a statement posted on the official Ministry of Interior X account, Naqvi expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of the two rescue workers and offered heartfelt condolences and sympathy to their families. He described the attack on the ambulance as an act of extreme brutality and savagery by the militants, saying no amount of condemnation was sufficient for the heartbreaking targeting of emergency responders carrying injured civilians to hospital.

Security forces launched operations in the area following the dual attacks. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other officials also condemned the original checkpoint bombing and expressed condolences to the victims’ families.

The incidents highlight ongoing militant violence in northwestern Pakistan, where the TTP and affiliated groups have carried out a series of attacks in recent years.