A car bomb hits a Kohat police-headquarters mosque during Friday prayers
BBC and Al Jazeera report that an explosives-laden vehicle rammed a mosque at a police headquarters in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, during Friday prayers on 18 September. BBC, citing provincial police, said at least 16 people died, including five officers, and a gun battle followed. Al Jazeera cited hospital figures of at least 15 dead and more than 50 injured, later 16 dead and 56 injured. No group claimed the attack.
Geopolitics··Evening
Friday at headquarters
BBC and Al Jazeera locate the blast at a mosque beside police lines in Kohat, near the Afghan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. An explosives-laden car was rammed into the entrance as people gathered for Friday prayers. Provincial police chief Zulfikar Hameed, in the BBC account, called it a suicide attack and said a gun battle continued. Al Jazeera said the attack was not immediately claimed. Those figures and proper names sit in that same-day article and attach to this event only.[1], [2]
Two counts of the dead
BBC said at least 16 people were killed, including five police officers, and one assailant was reported killed. Al Jazeera first quoted Dr Tahir Shah on at least 15 bodies and more than 50 injured taken to hospital, and that the toll could rise; its later headline put 16 dead and 56 injured. The two newsrooms agree the count was still moving on Friday. Those figures and proper names sit in that same-day article and attach to this event only.[1], [2]
No claim yet
Al Jazeera noted an ISIL affiliate and the Pakistan Taliban are both active in the region and regularly target troops, without attributing this blast. BBC said there was no immediate claim of responsibility. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack, in the BBC report. Those figures and proper names sit in that same-day article and attach to this event only.[2], [1]
