Kohat Police Lines attack: Case registered against unidentified terrorists under terrorism charges

PESHAWAR: A terrorism case has been registered over the suicide attack and subsequent assault on the old Police Lines in Kohat, where 23 people including 17 police personnel were martyred and more than 100 injured, while security forces killed eight attackers during a prolonged clearance operation.

The case has been registered at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Police Station in Kohat on the complaint of the City Police Station House Officer (SHO), police said.

The first information report (FIR) was registered against unidentified terrorists under provisions relating to terrorism, murder and attempted murder, among other charges.

According to the FIR, an explosives-laden vehicle was used in the attack on the mosque at the Police Lines during Friday prayers.

The explosion was followed by indiscriminate firing as the attackers attempted to enter the Police Lines compound.

The terrorists used the mosque area to gain access to the Police Lines and moved towards police facilities, including the Counter-Terrorism Department and Special Branch buildings, the FIR said.

Police personnel engaged the attackers after they entered the compound, while senior officers from the Pakistan Army, police and CTD reached the site to oversee the operation.

The attack involved the suicide bombing, gunfire and grenade attacks, causing casualties among police personnel and civilians and damaging government and private property, according to the FIR.

Among those martyred in the initial attack were SP Traffic Akbar Shinwari and Dr Israel Orakzai, head of the paediatric department at DHQ KDA Hospital in Kohat, Dawn reported.

Eight terrorists killed

The attack began when an explosives-laden vehicle detonated near the mosque at the old Police Lines during Friday prayers on September 18.

According to police, seven armed terrorists attempted to infiltrate the compound following the explosion. Six attackers, including the suicide bomber, were killed during the initial exchange of fire, while the remaining attackers were eliminated during an overnight clearance operation.

The operation concluded after around 20 hours, with police and security forces reporting that eight terrorists had been killed. Key sections of the compound, including the CTD and Special Branch buildings, were subsequently cleared.

The Counter-Terrorism Department said its Additional Inspector General was injured by a grenade during the operation. He had reached the site and was leading personnel involved in the clearance operation.

Group claims responsibility

The ‘Ittehadul Mujahideen Pakistan’, an outfit led by Afghanistan-based militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Dawn

The development comes amid continued tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan over militant groups allegedly operating from Afghan territory.

Following the attack, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting urged the Afghan Taliban authorities to take what it described as “concrete and verifiable measures” against militant networks operating from Afghanistan.

The ministry said Islamabad had repeatedly raised concerns about the alleged use of Afghan territory for attacks inside Pakistan.

DSP among six police officials martyred in Kohat terrorists attack

On February 24, 2026, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and five other officers were martyred when armed militants ambushed a police van in the Shakardara Road area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohat district.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Asad Mahmood was among at least six police personnel killed when the assailants opened fire on the vehicle as it was transporting two detainees for court appearance.

Police said the attackers also set the van ablaze before fleeing.

2010 Kohat Police Lines bombing

The latest attack also has a grim precedent in Kohat.

In 2010, a remote-controlled bomb exploded inside a police colony located behind the Kohat Police Lines during Iftar in Ramadan, killing 20 people and injuring more than 90. Most of those killed were relatives of police personnel.

The latest assault, however, was significantly more complex, involving a vehicle-borne explosive attack followed by an armed infiltration of the Police Lines and an assault on police facilities.