At least 10 police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and a sub-inspector, were killed and 12 others injured when militants attacked a police team during an operation against illegal gold mining in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohat district on Wednesday, officials said.
According to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police Directorate of Public Relations, the police team was returning after completing an operation in the Gambat area when it came under attack by militants identified by authorities as members of Fitna al-Khawarij.
Police alleged that the attackers were acting in coordination with criminal elements involved in illegal activities in the region.
The police personnel returned fire, triggering an exchange in which 18 militants were killed, according to the official statement.
Ten police personnel lost their lives during the confrontation, while 12 others sustained injuries.
Police authorities alleged that the attack demonstrated links between criminal networks and militant groups, claiming that the militants were operating with foreign backing.
The statement accused Fitna al-Khawarij of collaborating with criminal organisations to pursue its objectives and condemned the attack on law enforcement personnel.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police vowed to take action against those responsible, including alleged facilitators and criminal networks involved in illegal mining and militant activities.
Authorities said the deceased personnel belonged to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, particularly Kohat district, and paid tribute to their service and sacrifices.
Earlier, Rescue 1122 had reported that 11 police personnel had been killed and 12 injured. However, the subsequent police statement placed the death toll at 10.
Kohat police spokesperson Muhammad Nauman Zeb provided a different account of the circumstances leading to the attack, saying the police team was heading to conduct a raid against illegal mining when militants opened fire in the Darbokach Jalandhar Banda area, between Kohat and Karak districts.
Initial reports suggested that the attackers fired on the police party from surrounding hilltops, causing casualties and damaging police vehicles.
The differing official accounts left some uncertainty over whether the attack occurred before or after the anti-mining operation.
Police said operations against militant groups and criminal elements would continue, maintaining that illegal activities and attacks on law enforcement personnel would not be tolerated.