The death toll from a militant assault combining an explosion and gunfire at a police headquarters in northern Pakistan has climbed to at least 31, local officials said.
“At least 31 people, including 16 police personnel, have been killed and more than 100 injured so far in the militant attack,” an official said, warning that the confrontation had not yet ended.
- Advertisement -
The assault began Friday afternoon when attackers breached the Old Police Lines complex in Kohat, a town of about 220,000 residents in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
Officials said a vehicle packed with explosives was driven into the compound while police officers and their families were gathered in a mosque for prayers.
The facility functions as the district’s main police headquarters and includes offices for the Counter Terrorism Department, Special Branch and several other police divisions.
“Several militants are still holed up in the Special Branch section of the Kohat Police Complex,” a police official said.
“An exchange of fire with them has been ongoing since late last night. Their exact number remains unclear,” the official added.
Security officials inspect the site of the blast
Pakistan has attributed the recent surge in violence across the region to militants operating from Afghanistan, allegations the Taliban government has rejected.
The dispute has further strained relations between the neighbouring countries, as Pakistan has carried out airstrikes that it says were aimed at militant targets inside Afghanistan.
The Taliban government and the United Nations said Pakistani strikes in eastern Afghanistan in June killed dozens of civilians.
