31 dead in Pakistan after suicide bomber, gunmen attack police complex

A suicide bomber and gunmen attacked a police headquarters in northern Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 31 people, including 16 police personnel, according to a senior police official. The attack began when an explosives-laden car rammed into the Old Police Lines complex in Kohat, a town with around 220,000 residents, while officers and their families were praying in a mosque.

Gunmen then stormed the compound, leading to an ongoing fight between militants and security forces. The police complex houses key offices of the Counter Terrorism Department, Special Branch, and several other police units. Rescue operations are being accelerated by the authorities, but the exact number of militants still hiding in the Special Branch section remains unclear.

The mosque suffered severe damage, with piles of bricks and concrete obscuring the floor, wires dangling from cracked walls, and daylight streaming through holes in the roof. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and directed authorities to speed up rescue efforts. This incident occurred a day after a roadside bomb killed six soldiers in the northwestern Hangu district, and coincides with intensified military raids on militants in various areas.

Pakistan attributes the rise in attacks to militant activities originating from Afghanistan, leading to an escalating conflict with Afghanistan. The Taliban government and the UN have reported civilian casualties in Pakistani airstrikes on eastern Afghanistan.