Death Toll Rises to 24 After Suicide Bombing at Pakistan Police Compound

By Staff, Agencies

The death toll from a suicide bombing targeting a police compound in northwestern Pakistan has risen to 24, including 18 police officers and six civilians, a local hospital official said Saturday.

Tahir Ali Shah, a senior official at Kohat District Hospital, said three more police officers died from their injuries, bringing the total number of fatalities to 24.

The attack occurred Friday when a vehicle packed with explosives rammed into the entrance of the Old Police Lines compound in Kohat district, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The explosion caused a large crater near a mosque located within the police compound.

Police said six militants, including the suicide bomber, were also killed in the incident. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's police chief said another suicide bombing took place at a Special Branch police building while security forces were engaged in an exchange of gunfire.

Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the attack. Spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi expressed sympathy for the families of those killed and said attacks on religious sites were unjustifiable.

In a separate development, Pakistani security forces killed seven militants during two operations in the southwestern province of Balochistan, according to state-run Radio Pakistan.