Suicide bombing at Kohat mosque kills 16 during Friday prayers

An explosives-laden vehicle rammed the outer wall or gate of a police compound near Old Police Lines in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on September 18, 2026, during Friday prayers at a mosque inside or near the facility. Gunmen opened fire and exchanged fire with police. Security forces killed at least one suspected attacker, reportedly wearing an explosives-laden vest. A second suicide blast was reported near the Special Branch building. Rescue teams transported the injured, some critical, to hospitals. At least 16 people were killed. Contested: a wire summary listed 11 civilians and five police dead and more than 50 injured; other accounts said five police and 10 civilians killed, and some reports put injured above 30. Early Dawn headlines cited at least 7 dead and over 30 injured before later tallies rose. Pakistan's interior ministry said the attackers' "cowardly actions" could not weaken "the nation's firm resolve." President Asif Ali Zardari expressed "his best wishes for the swift recovery of those injured in the explosion." Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered expedited relief, medical treatment, and a report. No group immediately claimed responsibility; suspicion fell on the TTP without confirmation. The attack followed a roadside bomb in Hangu the prior day that killed six soldiers, and reports that Pakistani forces killed 10 suspected militants in Hangu and North Waziristan operations.