An attack involving an explosion and gunfire at a police headquarters killed at least 20 people and injured dozens of others in the Pakistani city of Kohat in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, which borders Afghanistan.
Pakistani officials said the blast occurred as worshipers finished prayers at a local mosque near the Old Police Lines, the city’s historic police headquarters, on September 18.
Naveed Ahmed, the city’s deputy commissioner, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi that shortly after the explosion, a clash broke out between police and armed attackers. He said at least 20 people were killed, most of them police officers, and 78 were injured.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior local police officer told the AFP news agency that four attackers “including a sniper and the suicide bomber” were killed in the incident.
According to the country’s rescue services, more than 45 personnel had been deployed to the scene.
While no group immediately claimed responsibility, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari urged the “complete elimination” of Fitna al-Khwarij, the government’s term for the banned Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, and “terrorists operating with foreign backing.”
It “is essential for national security,” Zardari said, expressing regret over the casualties and sending his “best wishes for the speedy recovery of those injured in the blast.”
The incident came amid an increase in similar attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and Balochistan, a southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
Islamabad has blamed the attacks on armed groups originating from and linked to Afghanistan, while the Taliban government there has denied Kabul’s involvement.
The tensions have led to ongoing conflict between the countries in recent years, with a number of clashes occurring along the border.
