Bomb hits mosque during prayers

A car loaded with explosives rammed into a mosque at a police compound in Kohat during Friday prayers at 1:15 p.m. local time, killing at least 21 people and injuring over 100.

“A car loaded with explosives rammed into the entrance of the mosque at about 13:15 local time (08:15 GMT), police say.”

Victims included police and child

Fifteen police officers and a four-year-old child were among those killed in the attack. At least six attackers were also killed in the explosion and gunfire that followed.

“Fifteen police officers and a four-year-old child are among those killed in the suicide attack”

Pakistani Taliban suspected

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police said a faction of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, carried out the attack. The group was founded in 2007 and is allied with al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban.

Rising militancy in border areas

Militancy in Pakistan's border areas has risen sharply in recent months, with armed groups targeting military and police. Islamabad says militants use Afghanistan as a safe haven to train and plan attacks.

International condemnation

UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the bombing, calling attacks on civilians and places of worship unacceptable. Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari called for the complete elimination of foreign-backed terrorists.

“attacks targeting civilians and places of worship are unacceptable”

Part of broader pattern

In February, the Pakistani Taliban was accused of a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Islamabad that killed over 30 people. The group has intensified attacks on military and police targets across the country.