Suicide bombing and gunfire kill 31 at police headquarters in Kohat
A suicide car bombing combined with an armed assault on a police headquarters compound in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killed at least 31 people, including 16 police officers, and injured more than 100 others on Friday. The Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group claimed responsibility for the attack. Fighting with militants who remained holed up inside the complex continued for more than a day afterwards.
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At least 31 people, including 16 police personnel, were killed and more than 100 injured when attackers stormed the Old Police Lines complex in Kohat on Friday afternoon. Kohat is a town of around 220,000 people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The compound houses the district's Counter Terrorism Department, Special Branch and several other police units. A senior police official told AFP the details of the attack on condition of anonymity.
The assault combined a suicide car bombing with an armed attack near a mosque located within the police compound. More than a day after the initial attack, several militants remained holed up inside the Special Branch section of the complex, with an exchange of gunfire continuing since late the previous night. The Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group claimed responsibility for the operation.
The attack is among the deadliest to strike Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in recent years. The province, which borders Afghanistan, has experienced a marked increase in militant violence as an intensifying insurgency continues in the region.
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