KOHAT, PAKISTAN / RankWire.AI / – Pakistani authorities say 23 people died in the September 18 attack on the Old Police Lines complex in Kohat, in northwestern Pakistan, including 17 police personnel and six civilians. The assault began during Friday prayers with an explosives-laden vehicle near the mosque inside the compound. Gunmen then entered the site and opened fire. Rescue 1122 moved the wounded to hospitals while security forces closed off the area and launched a clearance operation.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police said eight attackers were killed as security personnel searched the compound through the night. Fighting continued inside several buildings before officers secured the facility on Saturday. The Old Police Lines complex functions as the district police headquarters and also houses the Counter Terrorism Department and Special Branch. Police said the attackers reached sections of the compound after the initial explosion and exchanged fire with security personnel during the operation.
Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmad Faizi said emergency teams transported 23 bodies and 91 injured people from the scene. Authorities revised the casualty count as teams searched damaged areas and hospitals received more victims. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police later confirmed that 17 police personnel and six civilians were among the dead. Officials also reported damage to government and private property around the compound following the blast, gunfire and grenade attacks.
Terrorism case opened after police complex attack
The Counter Terrorism Department opened a case at its Kohat police station after the assault. Investigators included terrorism, murder, attempted murder and other charges in the first information report. The complaint says the attackers drove an explosives-packed vehicle toward the mosque area before entering the Police Lines with firearms and hand grenades. Investigators listed the assailants as unidentified and began collecting evidence from the damaged compound.
Police personnel confronted the attackers as army units and Counter Terrorism Department teams moved through the site. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police later said the clearance operation had ended after security forces killed all eight attackers. Teams also cleared the Special Branch section, where gunmen had entered during the assault. Authorities completed searches of the main buildings and surrounding sections before ending the operation and reopening access for investigators and emergency personnel.
Friday prayers interrupted by blast and gunfire
The attack struck one of Kohat’s main police facilities while officers and other worshippers had gathered for Friday prayers. The explosion damaged the mosque area and left a large crater near the blast site. Gunfire continued after the vehicle explosion as attackers moved farther into the compound. Security teams then conducted room-to-room searches across the Police Lines before authorities declared the site secure on Saturday.
Shura Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack. The police case, however, names unidentified attackers and does not identify individual suspects in the public record. The Counter Terrorism Department continues to examine the bombing, gunfire and grenade assaults as part of the registered case. Police also continued identification work on the dead attackers after the operation, while investigators documented casualties and property damage across the Old Police Lines complex.