PESHAWAR: The death toll from a militant attack at a police complex in northwestern Pakistan rose to 23 on Saturday, a health official said, as law enforcement agencies concluded an overnight security operation to clear the compound, killing eight militants.

The attack took place during Friday afternoon when an explosion was heard near a mosque at Kohat’s Old Police Lines compound. The complex houses police and counterterrorism offices, with the attack taking place during the weekly Friday prayers in the presence of a large number of people.

Police said a suicide bomber subsequently detonated explosives near the Special Branch building, while security forces battled other militants that were inside the compound. A local militant group named Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.

District Health Officer (DHO) Kohat Dr. Nasir Hussain Afridi said 21 people, including 15 police officers, were killed in the attack while 103 others were injured on Friday. Thee included 73 policemen and 30 civilians.

The death toll rose to 23 on Saturday, with Dr. Afridi saying two more bodies of police officers were brought to a hospital.

“The death toll has reached 23, including 17 police and 6 civilians,” he said, adding that the total number of injured remained the same.

CLEARANCE OPERATION

Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies were embroiled in a fierce gunbattle with militants who were still inside the compound on Saturday afternoon.

A handout shared by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said eight militants were killed in the retaliatory action by police and security forces.

“The clearance operation against terrorists has been completed, and Elite Force commandos, Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) teams and security forces cleared key areas of the buildings,” it said.

Pakistan’s northwestern KP province, which borders Afghanistan, has seen a surge in militant attacks, primarily by the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliate groups.

The TTP has increased attacks in KP since its fragile truce with the Pakistan government broke down in November 2022.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering TTP fighters and allowing them to organize cross-border attacks in Pakistani territory. Kabul denies the allegations.

Mosques located inside security compounds have previously been targeted. A suicide bombing in January 2023 at a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines area killed more than 100 people, most of them police officers.

In February this year, a bombing at a Shia mosque in Islamabad killed at least 31 people and wounded more than 170.