Death toll rises following bombing in Pakistan

 

TT-AFP

 

Published 07.01

 

A soldier and local residents outside the mosque where a bomb exploded on Friday in northwestern Pakistan. Photo: Muhammad Sajjad/AP/TT

At least 31 people, including 16 police officers, are reported to have been killed in Friday's attack at a mosque in Kohat, northern Pakistan.

Attackers stormed a police compound adjacent to a mosque and triggered an explosion before gunfire broke out. The blast was described as powerful enough to damage many nearby houses. The mosque is located in the city of Kohat, in a province bordering Afghanistan to the west.

Over 100 people are reported injured. On Saturday, fighting was still underway with several attackers who, according to the police, had barricaded themselves inside a section of the complex.

The local group Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, a faction linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Pakistan blames militant groups in Afghanistan for the surge in violence—a claim the Taliban regime in Kabul denies.