Kohat attack: 31 dead, 16 of them police, gunmen still holed up on day two

Updated Saturday 19 September, 12:40pm. The death toll from the assault on the Old Police Lines in Kohat has risen to 31, of whom 16 are police personnel. More than 100 people are wounded, most of them police, and several are in critical condition.

The fighting is not over. Officials say several attackers are still holed up inside the Special Branch section of the complex, and an exchange of fire has continued since late Friday night into Saturday morning. The number of gunmen still inside has not been established.

Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, a faction linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, has claimed the attack.

What was hit

The Old Police Lines is the district police headquarters for Kohat, a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa city of about 220,000 people roughly 60 km south of Peshawar. The compound holds several police units in one place, including the Counter Terrorism Department and the Special Branch. That concentration is why the casualty count among police is so high: the attackers did not have to move between buildings to reach serving officers.

The assault began on Friday afternoon. The first official count on Friday evening was 17 dead, revised to 21 late on Friday, and to 31 by Saturday morning as men died of wounds and bodies were recovered from cleared sections.

Official response

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and ordered medical assistance for the wounded. President Asif Ali Zardari expressed regret at the casualties and called for the elimination of what the state calls Fitna-al-Khawarij and militants operating with foreign backing.

Pakistan attributes the rise in attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to militants operating from Afghanistan. The Taliban government in Kabul denies involvement.

What this is part of

Kohat sits on the road between Peshawar and the southern districts, and police lines in KP have been targeted repeatedly because they hold officers, weapons and records in one compound. An attack on a district headquarters is not a roadside bombing: it needs reconnaissance, a breach, and enough men and ammunition to hold ground for hours. Holding part of a police complex for more than 18 hours is the detail that will drive the inquiry.

For the wounded, Kohat's district headquarters hospital and the Khyber Teaching Hospital in Peshawar are taking cases. Blood donations for police casualties are being coordinated through the Kohat DHQ blood bank.

What is still unconfirmed

• The final number of attackers, and how many have been killed.
• How the breach of the perimeter was made.
• Whether any personnel are still unaccounted for inside the cleared sections.

The toll has moved three times in under 24 hours. Treat any figure, including this one, as provisional until the KP police and the provincial government issue a consolidated statement. We will update this page as they do.

Related: Supreme Court orders FIRs in cognisable cases without delay, and our running coverage of security in Pakistan.