Death toll from attack at police HQ in Pakistan rises to 31

September 19, 2026 / 9:17 AM

Sharjah24 - AFP: The death toll from an explosion and armed attack on a police headquarters in northern Pakistan has risen to at least 31, including 16 police officers, a senior police official told AFP on Saturday, as fighting continued.

The assailants stormed the Old Police Lines complex in Kohat, a city of around 220,000 people in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on Friday afternoon.

The police compound serves as a district-level police headquarters, housing key offices of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), Special Branch and several other police units.

"At least 31 people, including 16 police personnel, have been killed and more than 100 injured so far in the militant attack and suicide bombing," the official said.

"Several militants are still holed up in the Special Branch section of the Kohat Police Complex," the police official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"An exchange of fire with them has been ongoing since late last night. Their exact number remains unclear," the official added.

A statement from the Kohat district health officer late on Friday said that more than 100 people had been injured, the vast majority of them police personnel, and several were in a critical condition.