Bomb attack at Pakistan mosque kills at least 16 people, injures 56

Attack not immediately claimed, but an ISIL affiliate and the Pakistan Taliban (TTP) are both active in the region and regularly target troops.

A bomb attack at a mosque and subsequent gun battle in Pakistan’s restive northwest has killed at least 16 people, including five police officers, with more than 56 reported injured.

An explosive-laden car was rammed into the entrance of a mosque located at a police headquarters in Kohat, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the Afghan border, as people gathered for Friday prayers.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. However, both a regional affiliate of the ISIL (ISIS) armed group and the Pakistan Taliban (TTP) are active in the region and regularly target security forces.

Provincial police chief Zulfikar Hameed confirmed that the bombing had been a suicide attack. After the explosion, gunmen attempted to enter the police compound and exchanged fire with officers.

At least 15 bodies and more than 50 injured were initially taken to hospital, said Dr Tahir Shah, according to the dpa news agency. The death toll could rise as several injured people were in critical condition, he added.

Hospital officials have confirmed that five police officers and 10 civilians were among the dead, Bilal Faizi, a senior rescue official, said, according to the AP news agency. Most of those wounded were worshippers.

The mosque was badly damaged and the police station’s outer wall collapsed. Residents said the blast had been heard some distance away.

Most suspicion over the attack is likely to fall on the TTP. It came a day after a roadside bomb struck a security forces convoy in the northwestern Hangu district and killed six soldiers.

Government troops conducted raids in various areas on Thursday and killed 10 fighters believed to be members of the TTP, the military and police said.

The group is separate from, but allied with, the Taliban, which returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.

Violence has surged in Pakistan’s remote regions near the Afghan border since, and Islamabad accuses the Taliban of allowing the groups that orchestrate attacks to operate from Afghan territory.

Officials in Kabul deny the accusation. The tension has seen the two nations launch cross-border attacks on an intermittent basis.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the bomb attack and directed authorities to accelerate rescue operations.

The Ministry of Interior said the “cowardly actions” of the attackers could not weaken the “nation’s firm resolve”.