Gunmen attacked a police convoy during a security operation against illegal gold mining in Pakistan’s Kohat district. Police reported ten officers killed and eleven wounded; the rescue service gave ten injuries. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility. The provincial governor condemned the assault and called for those involved to be brought to justice.
A police operation in Kohat, a district in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, came under attack on Wednesday.[1], [2]
Gunmen targeted the convoy in the Darbukach area during an operation against illegal gold mining. Police described the operation’s target as a network connecting Pakistani Taliban militants with criminal elements.[1]
Kohat police spokesman Noman Khan said ten officers had been killed, including a senior police official, and eleven people wounded. Noor ul Amin, spokesman for the district’s Rescue 1122 emergency service, also reported ten deaths but put the injury count at ten. The number of people wounded therefore remained uncertain. An injured officer received treatment at Kohat’s district hospital.[1]
The Pakistani Taliban, an armed group active in Pakistan, claimed responsibility in a statement. Provincial governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the attack and called for the perpetrators to face justice. The province had been placed under emergency rule the previous month amid increasing militant attacks. The administration did not specify how long militants had been extracting gold illegally in the district.[1]
