ADاشتہار / AdvertisementGoogle Ad
Kohat Ambush: 10 Police Martyred, 18 Attackers KilledPakistan
A police raid on illegal gold mining in Kohat ended in a deadly ambush, killing 10 officers including a DSP and injuring 12 as a search for the attackers began.
Share:
Ten police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police and a sub-inspector, were killed on Wednesday when gunmen ambushed a police team in Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said. Twelve other personnel were injured in the attack, which took place as the team was returning from an operation against illegal gold mining.
According to Kohat police spokesperson Muhammad Nauman Zeb, the team had gone to conduct a raid in the Darbokach and Jalandhar Banda area, between Kohat and Karak, when it came under fire. Initial reports said the attackers opened fire from hilltops, damaging police vehicles and setting five of them on fire. A heavy exchange of fire followed, and reinforcements were sent to the area.
ADاشتہار / AdvertisementGoogle Ad
The dead included DSP Gambat Haider Zaman and Sub-Inspector Mukhtiar, the spokesperson said. The injured were taken to hospital, and an emergency was declared at the District Headquarters Teaching Hospital in Kohat.
Police say 18 attackers killed in return fire
A later statement from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police said the police party was returning after completing the operation when it was attacked, and that officers fought back, killing 18 attackers. An earlier statement from the Rescue 1122 emergency service had put the police death toll at 11, with 12 injured.
Police described the attackers as members of a proscribed group acting alongside criminal elements, and said the illegal gold mining targeted in the operation took place along the River Indus, where the trade has continued through a nexus between militants and local criminals, according to Geo News. No group had claimed responsibility for the attack by Wednesday evening. The Associated Press reported that suspicion was likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has stepped up attacks on security forces in the province in recent months.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the attack, sought a detailed report from police authorities and directed that those involved be brought to justice. The Kohat district police officer said the pursuit of the attackers would continue, along with the operation against illegal mining in the area.
The ambush is the latest in a series of attacks on police in the province. In September, a blast and armed assault at Kohat’s Old Police Lines killed 15 police officers among 23 people, according to The Express Tribune. Earlier in October, a station house officer and his gunman were killed near the Karak-Kohat boundary. Police and security personnel remain the most frequent target of militant violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where official figures cited in reports show attacks rising sharply over the past two years.
Related Coverage
