Pakistan suicide attack: 16 killed, including 5 police personnel, as explosives-laden vehicle hits Kohat police facility

A suicide attack in Kohat killed at least 16, including five police personnel, during Friday prayers. The attacker used an explosives-laden vehicle. No group has claimed responsibility, while Pakistan's leaders expressed grief and called for medical assistance for the injured.

At least 16 people, including five police personnel, were killed and several others injured after a suicide attacker rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a police facility in Kohat city of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, during Friday prayers, news agency PTI reported.

Police said the attacker drove the explosives-laden vehicle into the outer wall of the facility while police personnel, their family members and other civilians were offering prayers, as per Geo News.

According to Reuters, gunmen accompanying the vehicle also opened fire following the explosion, triggering an exchange of fire with security personnel.

A police statement said the gun battle continued after the blast and that one attacker wearing an explosives-laden vest was killed.

A senior police official told local broadcaster Geo News that the casualties occurred after an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into the gate of the Old Police Lines in Kohat district.

Provincial police chief Zulfikar Hameed ​told Reuters that it was a suicide attack

Extensive damage reported at mosque

Videos from the site showed extensive destruction at the mosque located near the Old Police Lines following the explosion.

The videos shared could not be independently verified by LiveMint. LiveMint does not vouch for the authenticity of the video.

Several people were injured in the attack and were taken for medical treatment, according to local media reports. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Separately, Pakistani security forces killed seven militants during two operations in the southwestern province of Balochistan, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The operations come amid continued security operations against militant groups in different parts of Pakistan.

Zardari, Shehbaz Sharif express grief

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the casualties and directed authorities to ensure immediate medical treatment for those injured, Reuters reported.

The Kohat attack comes amid a rise in militant violence in Pakistan's border regions with Afghanistan, particularly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where police and security forces have increasingly come under attack.

The latest incident also comes months after a deadly suicide bombing at the Khadija Tul Kubra Mosque, a Shia place of worship in the Tarlai Kalan area of Islamabad.

The attack, which took place in February this year, killed at least 31 people.

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