Pakistan suicide attack: 16 dead, including 5 policemen, as explosives-laden vehicle hits Kohat police facility

At least 16 people, including five policemen, were killed and several others injured after a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle laden with explosives into a police facility in the city of Kohat in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday during Friday prayers, news agency PTI reported.

Police said the attacker drove a vehicle laden with explosives into the outer wall of the facility while officers, their family members and other civilians prayed, according to Geo News.

According to Reuters, gunmen accompanying the vehicle also opened fire after the explosion, sparking a firefight with security personnel.

A police statement said a shootout continued after the blast and one attacker wearing an explosives vest was killed.

A senior police official told local broadcaster Geo News that the casualties occurred after a vehicle laden with explosives rammed into the Old Police Lines gate in Kohat district.

Provincial police chief Zulfikar Hameed told Reuters it was a suicide attack

Extensive damage was reported at the mosque

Videos from the scene showed extensive destruction of a mosque near Old Police Lines following the blast.

Shared videos could not be independently verified by LiveMint. LiveMint does not guarantee the authenticity of the video.

According to local media reports, several people were injured in the attack and were taken for medical treatment. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Separately, Pakistani security forces killed seven militants in two operations in the southwestern province of Balochistan, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The operations come amid ongoing security operations against militant groups in various parts of Pakistan.

Zardari, Shehbaz Sharif express grief

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the victims and ordered authorities to provide immediate medical treatment to the injured, Reuters reported.

The Kohat attack comes at a time of increased militant violence in Pakistan’s border regions with Afghanistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where police and security forces are increasingly under attack.

The latest incident also comes months after a deadly suicide bombing at the Khadija Tul Kubra Mosque, a Shia place of worship in Islamabad’s Tarlai Kalan area.

At least 31 people were killed in the attack, which took place in February this year.