Daijiworld Media Network - Islamabad
Islamabad, Sep 18: At least 16 people were killed and several others injured after a massive explosion rocked a police mosque near the old Police Lines in Kohat district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday.
The blast occurred while Friday prayers were underway, triggering panic in the area. Videos and photographs circulating on social media showed damaged walls and buildings, while people rushed to rescue those injured.
Rescue teams from the local administration and police reached the spot and launched relief operations. Rescue 1122 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spokesperson Bilal Ahmad Faizi said teams were assessing the situation and the injured had been shifted to nearby hospitals.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the explosion. However, some unconfirmed reports have claimed that the blast was a suicide bombing carried out by Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan (IMP), a militant group formed in April last year that opposes Pakistani security forces and rivals the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remains volatile
A study by Pakistan's Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (ICSS) said the IMP had been responsible for multiple attacks, including suicide bombings, in North Waziristan since its emergence. The study also said loyalists of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), another group opposed to the TTP, could join the IMP.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has remained a major hotspot of militant violence in Pakistan, with groups including the TTP carrying out attacks against security forces and other targets. Pakistani forces have also conducted repeated operations against militants in the province.
Earlier on Friday, Pakistani security forces claimed to have killed 10 TTP militants in two separate intelligence-based operations carried out between Tuesday and Thursday.
According to the military's media wing, six militants were killed when security forces targeted a hideout in North Waziristan, while four others were killed in an operation in Hangu district.