Gunmen Kill 10 Pakistani Police Officers in Kohat Ambush

By Staff, Agencies

At least 10 Pakistani police officers were killed and more than a dozen others wounded after gunmen ambushed a police convoy in Kohat district, northwestern Pakistan, on Wednesday. 

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police said 18 militants were also killed in the ensuing exchange of fire, while no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to officials, the convoy was returning from an operation targeting illegal gold mining near Gumbat, in the Darbukash area of Kohat, when militants opened fire. 

A senior administrative official initially reported eight officers killed and 13 wounded, adding that the attackers had set two police vehicles ablaze. Two other police vehicles and a private car were also reported missing. Police later raised the death toll to 10.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police accused the attackers of belonging to what Pakistani authorities call "Fitna al-Khawarij," referring to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan [TTP], and alleged that they coordinated with criminal networks involved in illegal gold mining. 

Police further claimed that the militants and criminal elements were cooperating on behalf of foreign powers.

The attack comes amid rising insecurity across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where security forces and government facilities have repeatedly come under attack. 

Earlier this month, two police officers were shot dead while guarding a polio vaccination team near the Afghan border. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of allowing militant groups to operate from its territory, an allegation rejected by the authorities in Kabul.

Meanwhile, political tensions have further complicated the security situation. On October 11, President Asif Ali Zardari declared a state of emergency in the province and suspended the provincial government led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf [PTI], the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, accusing it of failing to address militancy. 

The PTI denounced the move as a power grab, while police subsequently detained hundreds of its supporters.

The ambush also comes amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Border clashes in October 2025 led to an almost complete closure of the frontier, with mediation temporarily easing hostilities before tensions escalated again in February 2026. 

The UN mission in Afghanistan has reported that fighting between the two countries has killed hundreds of civilians since last autumn.