Suicide Bombing at Kohat Police Lines Mosque in Pakistan Leaves at Least 16 Dead

At least 16 people were killed and more than 30 injured in a suicide explosion at a mosque inside the Kohat Police Lines in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday.
The blast occurred during Friday prayers, causing a part of the mosque to collapse and triggering an immediate rescue operation as emergency teams and local residents searched through the rubble for survivors. According to Rescue 1122 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spokesperson Bilal Ahmed Faizi, emergency personnel rushed to the scene to conduct rescue and relief operations. The injured individuals were subsequently transported to nearby hospitals for medical treatment, while roads leading to the blast site were cordoned off.
Initially, rescue officials described the location as being near the Old Police Lines. However, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General Zulfiqar Hameed clarified that the explosion took place at a mosque inside the Police Lines complex. Hameed stated that an exchange of fire ensued with armed terrorists following the explosion, and directed officials to provide the best possible medical treatment to those injured. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and Governor Faisal Karim Kundi strongly condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the victims.
Social media footage from the scene showed the roof of the mosque collapsed, with locals and rescuers pulling injured victims from the debris. While no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, suspicion has fallen on the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has a history of targeting security personnel and civilians in the region.