Explosive-laden truck rams into mosque near police offices in Pakistan's Kohat; 16 dead

At least 16 people were killed and more than 56 injured in a suicide explosion at a mosque inside the Kohat Police Lines in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, officials said.The explosion occured in Kohat, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, near the Afghanistan border, during Friday prayers, bringing down part of the building and prompting a major rescue operation. Emergency teams and local residents searched through the rubble for survivors, while at least two armed gunmen tried to enter the police compound and exchanged fire with officers, police told AP.According to Dawn, Rescue 1122 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spokesperson Bilal Ahmed Faizi said emergency teams rushed to the site after receiving information about the explosion and began rescue operations.The injured were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, while roads leading to the blast site were closed, Geo News reported. Rescue teams remained at the scene to assess the situation.The location was initially described by rescue officials as being near the Old Police Lines. However, a statement from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa inspector general Zulfiqar Hameed said the explosion occurred at a mosque inside the Police Lines complex.“Following the explosion, an exchange of fire ensued with the armed terrorists,” the statement said. Hameed also directed officials to ensure the best possible medical treatment for those injured in the blast.Separately, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi and governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the explosion and expressed solidarity with those affected. The blast comes a day after a roadside bomb targeted a security forces convoy in northwestern Hangu district, killing six soldiers. Separately, government forces carried out raids in several areas on Thursday and killed 10 militants suspected to be affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, according to the military and local police.Footage circulating on social media showed the roof of the mosque had collapsed. Rescuers and local residents could be seen pulling injured people from the rubble and carrying them to ambulances.No group had immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion. Suspicion could nevertheless fall on the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has carried out repeated attacks against security personnel and civilians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, AP said.In 2023, a suicide bombing at a mosque in Peshawar, the provincial capital, killed 101 people. The TTP is separate from Afghanistan's Taliban but maintains an alliance with the group.Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban government in Kabul of providing shelter to TTP members and allowing cross-border attacks to be carried out from Afghan territory. Kabul has denied the allegations.Authorities have yet to establish the precise nature of Friday's explosion or identify those responsible. Further details are expected as investigators assess the scene and the condition of those injured.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.