At least 21 people, including 15 police officers, were killed and more than 80 others injured after a suicide car bombing struck a mosque inside the Kohat Police Lines compound in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said on Friday.
The attack occurred during Friday prayers at a mosque located within the heavily guarded police complex in Kohat, where officers, their families, and civilians had gathered. Police said an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into the compound’s main gate before detonating, causing extensive damage to the mosque and nearby security buildings.
Provincial Police Chief Zulfiqar Hameed said the bombing was followed by a coordinated assault in which at least seven armed militants attempted to storm the police compound. Security forces exchanged fire with the attackers, killing several of them during the operation, while clearance operations continued for hours after the initial blast.
District Health Officer Dr. Nasir Hassan Afridi confirmed that more than 80 people were wounded, with three victims in critical condition. The dead included senior police personnel who were attending prayers, while emergency teams rushed dozens of injured people to hospitals across Kohat.
The Pakistan Army’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), whose offices are located inside the Police Lines complex, said security personnel continued operations to secure the area after the bombing and prevent attackers from reaching sensitive government facilities.
The attack was claimed by Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen, a militant faction led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, according to Pakistani media. The group has been linked to militant networks operating in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghanistan border.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the bombing as a “cowardly terrorist attack” and ordered authorities to accelerate rescue and medical response efforts. President Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the families of those killed.
The bombing is the latest in a surge of militant violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Pakistani security forces have intensified counterterrorism operations against armed groups in recent months. The province has witnessed repeated attacks targeting police, military convoys, and government facilities, fueling renewed security concerns along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.
