Islamabad. Gunmen opened fire on an ambulance that reached the site of a suicide bomb attack on a roadside police checkpoint in north-western Pakistan on Saturday.
Provincial Emergency Services spokesman Bilal Faizi said that the attack, carried out by an explosive-laden vehicle, took place in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Local police chief Safdar Baloch said most of those killed and injured were security personnel and pedestrians.
Firing took place on ambulance while being taken to hospital
The blast destroyed a large checkpoint and eyewitnesses said gunshots were heard after the attack. As emergency teams were taking victims to a nearby hospital, gunmen opened fire on the ambulance, killing one rescue worker and wounding two others, Faizi said. He said two women and a child were among those killed in the suicide bombing.
TTP took responsibility for the attack
Pakistani Taliban i.e. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has taken responsibility for this attack. Violence by armed groups has increased in Pakistan in recent years. Responsibility for most of these attacks has been claimed by TTP and the banned Baloch Liberation Army. The Baloch Liberation Army is a separatist group primarily active in the neighboring Balochistan province.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the families of the victims. Zardari described the targeting of civilians and security personnel as extremely condemnable and demanded strict action against the Pakistani Taliban. He alleged that this organization is carrying out heinous and barbaric activities with foreign help.