Peshawar: At least 11 police officers, including a senior commander and a sub-inspector, were killed and 12 others injured when militants attacked a police team during an operation against illegal gold mining in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday.
The officers were travelling to carry out a raid in the Gambat area of Kohat district when they came under fire near Darbokach Jalandhar Banda, between Kohat and Karak. Officials said the attackers opened fire from hilltops, targeting the police convoy and setting five police vehicles on fire, reported by The Express Tribune.
Kohat police spokesperson Muhammad Nauman Zeb said Deputy Superintendent of Police Haider Zaman and Sub-Inspector Mukhtiar were among those killed. Rescue 1122, the provincial emergency service, said the death toll had risen to 11, while 12 personnel were wounded.
As the shooting continued, police sent additional vehicles and reinforcements to the area. Security forces placed the region on high alert, and an emergency was declared at the District Headquarters Teaching Hospital to treat the injured.
Provincial Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the attack as a cowardly act and paid tribute to the officers who died. He expressed condolences to their families, sought a detailed report from police authorities and ordered that those responsible be brought to justice.
The attack is the latest in a series of deadly incidents targeting police in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. In recent months, officers have been killed in Karak, Tank and Peshawar. In September, a bombing and armed assault at Kohat Police Lines killed 15 police personnel among 23 people.
Terrorism has been rising across Pakistan. Monitoring group ACLED recorded 2,425 attacks in 2025, nearly four times the 658 recorded in 2022. Reports presented to the federal cabinet in October said terrorist incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had risen by 195 per cent between March 2024 and September 2026, with police and security personnel targeted in 73 per cent of attacks this year.
