A powerful bomb exploded Friday at a mosque near a building housing police offices in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens more, police and rescue officials said, as violence continues to surge in a region where security forces have intensified operations against militants.
The attack occurred in Kohat, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, when an attacker apparently rammed an explosives laden vehicle into the gate of the old Kohat Police Lines during Friday prayers, according to provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hameed. “The vehicle hit the gate and then exploded, and firing also took place,” Hameed said.
Death toll figures differed slightly across accounts, with most reports citing at least 15 dead, while a separate account and a statement from Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari cited 16 deaths, a discrepancy that had not been resolved as of the latest reporting. Bilal Faizi, a senior rescue official, said five police officers and 10 civilians were among the dead, with most of the wounded being worshippers, some in critical condition.
What We Know So Far
Accounts also differed on the number of injured. The Associated Press reported 56 wounded, while other reports described more than 50 injured taken to hospitals. Hospital administration later put the number of injured brought in for treatment at 25, a figure notably lower than the earlier counts, suggesting either an evolving assessment or inconsistent reporting across sources that had not been reconciled by the time of the latest updates. District Headquarters Hospital medical superintendent Tahir Ali Shah said 15 bodies were brought to the hospital along with dozens of injured following the blast.
Hameed said a second explosion, described as a suicide blast, occurred at the Special Branch building during an exchange of gunfire between security forces and attackers, indicating the assault involved more than a single bombing. Separately, at least two armed gunmen attempted to enter the police compound and exchanged fire with officers, according to police accounts of the attack.
Photos from the scene showed the outer wall of the police offices had collapsed and the mosque was badly damaged, with a crater left outside the building. Witnesses and residents said the blast was heard from far away, followed by gunfire. Rescue operations continued at the site as authorities closed the Kohat-Hangu Road to all traffic, and Kohat’s district hospital administration declared an emergency to manage the influx of injured. Police said an additional contingent of officers was deployed to the Police Lines following the attack.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which along with a regional affiliate of the Islamic State group remains active in the area and regularly targets security forces.
The bombing came a day after a roadside bomb struck a security forces convoy in the nearby Hangu district, killing six soldiers. Government troops also conducted raids in the area Thursday, killing 10 militants believed to be members of the Pakistani Taliban, according to the military and police.
What Authorities Are Saying
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, expressed sorrow over the casualties, and directed authorities to accelerate rescue operations and provide every possible facility to those affected. He also requested a report on the nature and causes of the blast.
President Zardari expressed grief over the injuries and directed authorities to ensure immediate medical treatment for those affected, saying the complete elimination of militant groups remains essential for national security. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi extended condolences to the families of those killed, saying the nation stands with the families of the fallen and that the attackers could not weaken the country’s resolve.
Hameed said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police stood like an iron wall against terrorism and that such attacks could not undermine officers’ morale, vowing that those responsible and their facilitators would face consequences. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi called the attack extremely regrettable and unacceptable and directed officials to ensure immediate medical assistance for the injured, while Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the bombing and called for strengthened national resolve against terrorism.
Why This Matters
The attack adds to a documented pattern of intensifying violence in Pakistan’s northwest, where the Pakistani Taliban has stepped up attacks on police and civilians in recent years. In 2023, a suicide bomber killed 101 people in an attack inside a mosque in Peshawar, the provincial capital, underscoring how mosques and other public gathering places have repeatedly become targets in the region’s ongoing militant violence.
The apparent combination of a vehicle bombing, a second explosion at a separate building, and an armed confrontation with gunmen suggests a coordinated, multistage assault rather than a single isolated bombing, a level of planning that may complicate the security response and investigation. Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government, which returned to power in 2021, of sheltering the TTP and allowing cross border attacks to be planned from Afghan territory, an allegation Kabul has denied, and recent cross border strikes suggest that underlying dispute remains unresolved and continues to shape the security dynamic in the border region.
What Happens Next
Pakistani authorities are continuing rescue and investigative operations at the scene, with the Central Police Office seeking a detailed report from the Regional Police Officer in Kohat on the nature of the explosion. Officials have not yet finalized the precise death toll or the exact chain of events during the attack, given the discrepancies in reported casualty figures.
Given the recent pattern of attacks, including Thursday’s roadside bombing in Hangu and the military’s counterinsurgency raids the same day, further violence in the region remains likely as security forces continue operations against the Pakistani Taliban and affiliated militant groups. Officials at multiple levels of government have pledged continued investigation and response, though it remains unclear whether authorities have identified specific suspects.
Reporting drawn from the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and The News Pakistan
