At least 15 people were killed and 56 others injured after an explosives-laden vehicle struck a mosque near a police compound in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during Friday prayers on Friday, officials said.
The blast, according to AP, took place at the Old Police Lines in Kohat district, about 60 km southwest of Peshawar. Five police officers were among those killed, according to officials cited by Pakistani media.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hamid said an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into the gate of the old police lines before exploding. Gunfire was also reported during the attack.
The explosion heavily damaged the mosque and nearby police offices, while parts of the building collapsed. Rescue teams searched through the rubble for survivors and took the injured to nearby hospitals.
The attack came a day after six Pakistani soldiers were killed in an improvised explosive device attack on a security forces convoy in Hangu district. Pakistani security forces also said they had killed 10 militants in separate operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa between September 15 and 17.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack. Suspicion is likely to focus on the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which has carried out repeated attacks against security forces and civilians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, there has been no confirmed attribution of the Kohat bombing so far.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and directed authorities to accelerate rescue and relief efforts.
The bombing comes amid a wider increase in militant violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with Pakistani authorities reporting repeated attacks and security operations in the province in recent days.
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