AT LEAST 21 people, mostly policemen, were killed and 78 others injured in a suicide blast at a mosque during Friday prayers near the police lines in Kohat district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said. The blast occurred at the mosque located near the old Police Lines in Kohat, around 60 kilometres southwest of the provincial capital Peshawar, they said. According to police, an attacker rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the mosque premises, following which an exchange of fire with armed militants took place. District Health Officer Kohat Dr Nasir Hussain said 21 people, including 16 police personnel and five civilians, were killed and 78 others injured in the explosion. A little-known militant group, Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack.

 

The group, an alliance comprising the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, Harakat Inqilab-e-Islami Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Islam, was formed in April 2025. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hamid said that an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into the gate of the old police lines, triggering an explosion followed by gunfire. “The vehicle hit the gate and then exploded, and firing also took place,” Hameed said, adding that another suicide blast occurred at the Special Branch building during the exchange of fire with terrorists. The blast occurred during Friday prayers, leaving a crater outside the mosque and severely damaging its exterior. , while a wall also collapsed. Most of those wounded were worshippers. Video footage from the site showed the bodies of worshippers lying inside the mosque. According to the Central Police Office in Peshawar, seven armed militants entered the police lines, where police and the Counter-Terrorism Department engaged them in a gun battle.

 

Six militants have so far been killed, including suicide bombers and snipers, the official said. Security officials said security forces and police had cordoned off the area. The injured, including police personnel, were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, where an emergency was declared, hospital Medical Superintendent Tahir Ali Shah said. According to Rescue 1122 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spokesperson Bilal Ahmad Faizi, rescue teams reached the site shortly after receiving the information and launched a rescue operation. Police said the Kohat-Hangu Road had been closed to all traffic and additional police contingents had been deployed near the police lines. Rescue officials said nearby buildings were also damaged in the blast. Following the blast, provincial police chief Hameed sought a report from the district’s regional police officer. He directed authorities to ensure timely and best possible medical treatment for the injured.

 

“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police stands as an iron wall against terrorism, and such cowardly attacks cannot weaken our resolve,” he said. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have condemned the incident and vowed that the complete elimination of foreign-sponsored terrorists was “essential for national security”. Sharif also sought a report on the blast from the concerned authorities. He also directed authorities to expedite relief operations, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. KPK Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also condemned the blast, saying the “entire nation stands with the security forces to eradicate terrorism.” Provincial Chief Minister Sohail Afridi also sought a report from the police chief into the blast. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terror activities, particularly in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces in the past few years.