Muslim Unityâ„¢
A gun battle is still ongoing between attackers and security forces at the mosque, near police headquarters, in the Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
One of the assailants has reportedly been killed, an officer says, and a rescue operation is under way.
In a statement, Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari expressed "his best wishes for the swift recovery of those injured in the explosion."
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief inspector general Zulfikar Hameed described the attack as a "suicide attack", according to Reuters news agency.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the blast.
Militancy in Pakistan's border areas has risen sharply in recent months, targeting the military and police.
Islamabad says militants use safe haven in Afghanistan to train and plan attacks in Pakistan. Afghanistan's Taliban government denies the accusation and says militancy is Pakistan's domestic problem.
| Update from Dawn at 2:10 p.m. EDT: |
At least seven attackers then breached the compound and headed towards the CTD and Special Branch buildings. Six attackers, including a jacket wallah, were killed by law enforcers, according to a police statement.
At least one attacker was subsequently cornered, prompting police personnel to launch a clearance operation. At around 3:30pm, police said the operation was "in its final stages".
"The operation will continue until the complete elimination of Fitna-ul-Khawarij," the IG was quoted as saying, adding that the police’s morale remained high.
Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for Death Eaters belonging to the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...Pakistain.
Earlier, television footage from the scene showed citizens gathered beside a building with a collapsed wall, digging through the rubble and helping the injured. The blast caused extensive damage to the mosque.
The attack was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur
...a member of the Madda Khel clan of the Uthmanzai Waziris. Educated in a Deobandi madrassa located in Multan, he is affiliated with the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) political party. Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in December 2007, he was announced as the group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Wazoo, but has largely distanced himself from the TTP due to rivalries with the Mehsuds and disagreements about the TTP's attacks against the Pak state..
-led Ittehadul Mujahideen.
The funeral prayers for 15 police personnel martyred in the Police Lines blast were offered in Kohat later in the evening, after which their bodies were transported to their native districts of Kohat, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Bannu and Mardan in Rescue 1122 ambulances.
Related:
Kohat district: 2025-08-31 Cop martyred, three terrorists killed in Kohat attack
Kohat district: 2024-07-11 Four security personnel martyred in Peshawar IBO
Kohat district: 2024-01-11 3 cops among 4 dead in late-night attack on police checkpost in Kohat
Kohat district: 2025-08-31 Cop martyred, three terrorists killed in Kohat attack
Kohat district: 2024-07-11 Four security personnel martyred in Peshawar IBO
Kohat district: 2024-01-11 3 cops among 4 dead in late-night attack on police checkpost in Kohat
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