Gunmen kill 10 police officers and 18 attackers in Kohat, northwest Pakistan

Attack on a police team in Kohat

On Wednesday, 11 November, gunmen opened fire on police officers returning from an operation against illegal gold mining in Kohat district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Al Jazeera places the ambush in the Gumbat area, while BBC Urdu and BBC Hindi place the anti-mining operation near Kohat city, in Darabukach. A provincial police statement said 10 officers and 18 attackers were killed and 12 policemen were wounded. Kohat police spokesman Nouman Zeb told BBC Urdu that a DSP-rank officer, Haider Zaman, was among the dead.

Police officers killed10

Attackers killed18

Police wounded12

Police officers killed

10 people

Attackers killed

18 people

Police wounded

12 people

Data from the article text

The medical superintendent of Kohat hospital, Dr Tahir, told BBC Hindi that 10 bodies of officers and 10 wounded officers had been brought to the facility. Two of the wounded were transferred to Peshawar, and eight were being treated in Kohat.

Vehicles set alight and militant claims

An AFP source, a senior administrative official in Kohat, said fighters set two police vehicles on fire during the assault. The same source said two other police vehicles and one private vehicle were missing. Zeb gave a higher count, saying five police vehicles had been set alight and that the attackers kept firing at officers. The provincial police statement described the attackers as Fitna al-Khawarij, a term Pakistan uses for militants linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and said the attack was carried out at the instigation of criminal elements. Hours after the attack, the Pakistani Taliban, known as the TTP, issued a statement claiming it. Separately, a senior administrative official in the Orakzai area of Kohat district said 10 TTP fighters were killed in another operation, and a large quantity of weapons was recovered from them.

Pakistan and Afghanistan's tense border

Security forces say the intensifying violence in the border province comes from Afghanistan, an accusation the Taliban government in Kabul rejects. Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of sheltering TTP fighters, an allegation Kabul denies. The TTP, which is separate from but closely allied with the Afghan Taliban, has stepped up attacks on security forces in the region in recent months. Relations worsened after deadly border clashes in October 2025 that led to a near-total closure of the border. According to RTP, the fighting eased after international mediation but flared again in February 2026. Figures from the United Nations mission in Afghanistan cited by Al Jazeera put the number of civilians killed in fighting between the two countries at hundreds.

Government response

President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the Gumbat attack and said Pakistan's determination to fully eradicate terrorism is unwavering, according to RTP. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also condemned the attack. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi expressed sorrow over the deaths of the policemen and requested a detailed report on the incident. RTP also reported that in early October the federal government announced it would take control of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because of the deteriorating security situation.