Police set out to shut down illegal mining in Pakistan’s Kohat. Gunmen on the hilltops killed at least 10 of them
Militants firing from hilltops ambushed a Pakistani police convoy in Kohat district, in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Wednesday afternoon, killing at least 10 officers and wounding at least 12. Rescue officials put the toll at 11, including a deputy superintendent of police. It is the second mass-casualty attack on police in Kohat in about two months.
Three things to know
- The convoy was heading to an operation against illegal mining when it came under fire at about 1pm local time (4pm AWST) on Wednesday; attackers set five police vehicles alight.
- Officials gave tolls of 10 and 11 dead; the provincial rescue service said 11, among them a deputy superintendent and a sub-inspector, with 12 wounded taken to hospital.
- No group has claimed the attack. Suspicion has fallen on the Pakistani Taliban, known as the TTP, which has stepped up attacks on security forces near the Afghan border.
The police were going to stop illegal mining. The ambush was waiting for them in the hills.
Militants positioned on high ground opened fire on a police convoy in Pakistan’s Kohat district at about 1pm local time on Wednesday (4pm AWST), as it travelled to an operation against illegal mining activity. At least 10 officers were killed. The province’s Rescue 1122 emergency service later said the number of dead had reached 11, with 12 wounded taken to hospital.
A local police officer, Faisal Khan, said a senior official was among the dead. A police spokesperson named two of those killed as a deputy superintendent of police, Haider Zaman, and a sub-inspector identified only as Mukhtiar.
What happened on the road?
Police said the attackers fired down on the vehicles as they passed, then set five police vehicles on fire. An intense exchange of fire followed, and extra officers were sent to the area. A police spokesperson said the ambush happened in an area between Kohat and the neighbouring district of Karak.
An emergency was declared at the main district hospital as the wounded arrived. Police said a search for the attackers and a rescue operation were under way.
Who is behind it?
No group had claimed responsibility by Wednesday night. Suspicion fell on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the banned militant group that has carried out repeated attacks on police and soldiers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The province’s governor, Faisal Karim Kundi, condemned the attack and described it as showing a nexus between criminal groups and militants, a pointed remark given that the convoy was on its way to confront illegal miners.
Why does Kohat keep being hit?
Kohat lies in the province that borders Afghanistan, where militant violence has surged in recent years. In September, at least 21 people were killed in a coordinated attack on a police headquarters in the same district.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering the militants who carry out these attacks. Kabul denies it. Relations between the two have worsened this year, with regular exchanges of fire along the border.
Why should it matter beyond Pakistan?
Police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are often the first and weakest line against militant groups operating along one of the world’s most volatile borders. Each attack on them makes it harder to hold territory, run basic law enforcement, and stop illegal mining that can fund armed groups. Pakistan is a nuclear-armed country of more than 240 million people, and every attack like this one adds to the strain between Islamabad and Kabul.
How we got here
The key moments that brought this story into focus. Open any moment for detail.
September 2026Kohat police headquarters attacked
At least 21 people are killed in a coordinated assault.
11 November 2026Convoy ambushed
Militants on hilltops kill at least 10 police heading to an illegal mining operation.
What happens next
Police say the search for the attackers is continuing. The next markers to watch are a final confirmed death toll, the full names of the officers killed, any claim of responsibility, and whether authorities launch a wider security operation around Kohat and Karak.
Sources
- VNN
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