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At least 16 people including five police officers died in the suicide attack on the mosque at the Police Lines compound in Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to officials who updated the toll from initial reports of 15 fatalities. More than 50 others sustained injuries in the blast that occurred as worshippers attended Friday prayers, hospital authorities reported. The explosion damaged the outer section of the mosque, collapsed a wall and left a crater at the site, rescue officials told local media.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed said an explosives-laden vehicle struck the gate of the old Police Lines before detonating. A suicide bomber then set off a second blast near the Special Branch building during an ensuing exchange of fire with the militants, the inspector general added in statements to multiple outlets. Hameed identified the attackers as members of Fitna al Khawarij, the government’s term for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan group.
District Headquarters Hospital Medical Superintendent Tahir Ali Shah confirmed that 15 bodies and over 50 injured individuals arrived at the facility, where administrators declared an emergency to manage the influx. Several of the wounded were police personnel, according to the hospital and provincial police. Rescue teams continued operations at the scene while authorities closed the Kohat-Hangu Road to traffic and deployed additional security forces around the area.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi condemned the targeting of innocent people as deeply regrettable and unacceptable, his office said in a statement that directed officials to provide immediate treatment for all injured. The chief minister sought a detailed report on the incident from relevant authorities. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also denounced the attack and offered prayers for the swift recovery of those wounded, according to a separate official release.
The assault marks the latest in a series of militant operations against security installations and civilian sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Pakistani security forces have conducted repeated operations against Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan factions in recent years, Dawn newspaper reported. No group had claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack hours after it occurred, though officials and analysts have pointed to patterns seen in prior TTP-linked incidents in the province that borders Afghanistan. Provincial police figures have previously shown an uptick in such violence since 2022, with attacks often aimed at law enforcement compounds during periods of high attendance such as Friday prayers.
