A coordinated assault on a mosque in Kohat, located in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in north-western Pakistan, resulted in significant casualties on Friday. The attack, which occurred around 13:15 local time during Friday prayers, combined a car-bomb detonation with gunfire directed at a nearby police facility. Authorities confirmed at least 21 deaths and more than 100 injuries from the incident.
The deceased included 15 police officers and a four-year-old child among other victims. Police Inspector General Zulfikar Hameed characterized the attack as a suicide operation. According to reports, all seven attackers were killed either in the explosion or during the gunfire exchange that followed. Video footage examined by BBC Verify documented the scene, showing the site covered in debris with emergency responders attending to the wounded.
Both Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif issued statements responding to the attack. The president expressed hopes for the recovery of the injured, while the prime minister condemned the assault. Clearance and recovery operations commenced at the location following the incident.
No organization had claimed responsibility for the attack at the time of reporting. The incident reflects an escalation in militant activity across Pakistan’s border regions in recent months, with various armed groups conducting operations against military and police targets. Pakistani authorities attribute such attacks to militant groups that use Afghanistan as a base for training and coordination, though Afghanistan’s Taliban government disputes this characterization, characterizing militant groups operating in Pakistan as a domestic Pakistani security matter.
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