TTP Ambush Kills 10 Police Officers in Pakistan’s Kohat District
Ten police officers, including a deputy superintendent, were killed on Wednesday when militants ambushed a police convoy in the Kohat district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The Pakistani Taliban, known as the TTP, later claimed responsibility for the attack, according to reporting by the Associated Press and AFP.
The officers were returning from an operation against illegal gold mining along the River Indus when gunmen opened fire on their vehicles in the remote Darbukach area of Gambat tehsil, between Kohat and Karak. Police said their personnel returned fire, killing 18 attackers in a gunbattle that lasted for hours.
An Ambush From the Hills
According to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, the attackers fired on the convoy from surrounding hills and set five police vehicles ablaze during the assault. The dead include Deputy Superintendent of Police Haider Zaman and Sub-Inspector Mukhtiar, Kohat police spokesperson Muhammad Nauman Zeb said.
Pakistan’s Rescue 1122 emergency service put the police death toll at 11, with 12 injured personnel taken to hospital. The two official counts have not been reconciled. The police figure of 18 attackers killed is the force’s own claim and has not been independently verified.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack, saying the officers had fought back bravely. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also expressed grief over the killings. An emergency was declared at the District Headquarters Teaching Hospital in Kohat, where the injured were taken.
Why This Attack Matters
The ambush is one of the deadliest single attacks on police in the province this year, and it underlines how sharply security has deteriorated in Pakistan’s northwest. The TTP has intensified its attacks against Pakistani security forces and police in recent years, and the group has stepped up operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular.
The attack also fits a wider pattern of violence along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Taliban and Pakistani forces have clashed repeatedly along their border since October 29, and the Kohat ambush came as that standoff continued. Pakistan frequently accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering TTP fighters, an allegation Kabul denies.
Police said the convoy had been targeted because of its operation against illegal gold extraction in the Darbukach area, which authorities say is carried out through a nexus between militants and criminal groups. The claim that criminal networks helped stage the ambush has not been independently verified.
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The TTP’s claim of responsibility came hours after the attack, according to AP and AFP reporting. No group had claimed the attack in the first hours after it happened. The claim itself has not been independently verified.
It was not immediately clear whether any of the attackers who died in the firefight have been identified, or whether security forces have launched follow-up operations in the area. Pakistani authorities have not said whether any suspects were arrested.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where did the Kohat attack take place?
The ambush happened in the Darbukach area of Gambat tehsil, in Kohat district in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, as a police team returned from an operation against illegal gold mining along the River Indus.
How many people were killed?
Police say 10 officers were killed, including Deputy Superintendent of Police Haider Zaman and Sub-Inspector Mukhtiar. Rescue 1122 reported 11 police deaths and 12 injured. Police also say 18 attackers were killed, a figure that has not been independently verified.
Who claimed responsibility?
The Pakistani Taliban, known as the TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack, according to reporting by the Associated Press and AFP. The TTP is a banned militant organization that has intensified attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent years.
Why were the police in the area?
The officers were returning from an operation targeting illegal gold mining in the Darbukach area. Police allege the mining is carried out through a network involving militants and criminal groups, a claim that has not been independently verified.
The attack is a reminder of the scale of the militant threat facing Pakistani police in the northwest, where officers are regularly targeted while carrying out routine operations. With border tensions still running high and the TTP claiming new attacks, the coming days are likely to bring further pressure on Pakistan’s security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
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Sources: FDD’s Long War Journal, Terror Monitor, Zark News, Al Jazeera (via GhanaSummary).
