A terrorism case has been initiated after the suicide bombing and subsequent armed attack targeted the old Police Lines in Kohat, resulting in the deaths of 23 individuals, including 17 police officers, and injuring more than 100 others. Security forces killed eight attackers during a prolonged clearance operation.
The case was filed at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Police Station in Kohat based on a complaint from the Station House Officer (SHO) of the City Police Station. The first information report (FIR) named unidentified terrorists and included charges related to terrorism, murder, and attempted murder.
The FIR detailed that an explosives-laden vehicle detonated near the mosque within the Police Lines during Friday prayers. Following the blast, attackers opened indiscriminate fire while attempting to breach the Police Lines compound. They exploited the mosque area to gain entry and advanced toward police facilities, including the CTD and Special Branch offices.
Police personnel engaged the assailants inside the compound, with senior officials from the Pakistan Army, police, and CTD arriving to oversee the operation. The attack involved a combination of suicide bombing, gunfire, and grenade assaults, causing casualties among police and civilians and damaging both government and private properties.
Among those killed in the initial assault were SP Traffic Akbar Shinwari and Dr. Israel Orakzai, head of the paediatric department at DHQ KDA Hospital in Kohat.
The attack commenced when the explosives-laden vehicle exploded near the mosque during Friday prayers on September 18. Seven armed militants attempted to infiltrate the compound after the blast. Six attackers, including the suicide bomber, were killed in the initial firefight, while the remaining attackers were neutralized during an overnight clearance operation.
The operation lasted approximately 20 hours, after which security forces confirmed that eight terrorists had been eliminated. Key areas of the compound, including CTD and Special Branch buildings, were secured. The CTD’s Additional Inspector General sustained injuries from a grenade during the operation while leading the clearance efforts on site.
In a significant development, the militant group Ittehadul Mujahideen Pakistan, led by Afghanistan-based commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, claimed responsibility for the attack. This incident occurred amid ongoing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan over militant groups allegedly operating from Afghan soil.
Following the attack, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting called on the Afghan Taliban authorities to implement concrete and verifiable actions against militant networks based in Afghanistan. Islamabad has repeatedly raised concerns about Afghan territory being used to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
Separately, on February 24, 2026, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and five other officers were killed when militants ambushed a police van in Kohat’s Shakardara Road area. DSP Asad Mahmood was among those martyred as assailants opened fire while the van was transporting detainees for court. The attackers also set the vehicle on fire before fleeing.
The recent assault has echoes of a previous tragedy in Kohat. In 2010, a remote-controlled bomb exploded inside a police colony behind the Police Lines during Ramadan’s Iftar, killing 20 people and injuring over 90, mostly relatives of police personnel. However, the latest attack was far more complex, combining a vehicle-borne explosion with an armed infiltration and assault on police facilities.
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