KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – At least 16 people, including five police personnel, were killed and more than 50 others injured in an explosion near a mosque in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, according to Pakistani media.
The explosion occurred near the old Police Lines in Kohat district around the time of Friday prayers, damaging the outer section of a mosque and causing a wall to collapse, according to Geo News. Rescue teams transported the injured to nearby hospitals.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hamid told the media that an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into the gate of the old Police Lines before exploding.
“The vehicle hit the gate and then exploded, and firing also took place,” Hamid said.
The Pakistani official said that a second suicide blast occurred at the Special Branch building during the exchange of fire. He added that six militants, including the suicide bomber, had been killed in the incident.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and called for the complete elimination of what the government refers to as “Fitna al-Khawarij”, a term it uses for the TTP.
The blast comes amid a broader rise in militant violence in Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, both of which border Afghanistan. Groups including the TTP and the Balochistan Liberation Army have stepped up attacks, mainly targeting security personnel, checkpoints and other government installations.
Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban authorities of providing shelter to the TTP and other militant groups operating against Pakistan. The Taliban denies the allegations, saying no militant group uses Afghan territory to conduct attacks against Pakistan.
