# Suicide bombing kills 21 at Pakistan mosque

> A car bomb and gunmen attack a police compound mosque during Friday prayers in Kohat, with the Pakistani Taliban suspected.
- Title: Suicide bombing kills 21 at Pakistan mosque · BBC News
- Summary: A car bomb and gunmen attack a police compound mosque during Friday prayers in Kohat, with the Pakistani Taliban suspected. The Pakistani Taliban faction…
- Keywords: breaking, pakistan, kohat, khyber pakhtunkhwa, mosque attack, suicide bombing, tehrik-e-taliban pakistan, pakistani taliban, police compound, terrorism, militant attack, news
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckn9wenz8wjwo
- Published: 2026-09-18T10:13:02.971+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: breaking, pakistan, kohat, khyber pakhtunkhwa, mosque attack, suicide bombing, tehrik-e-taliban pakistan, pakistani taliban, police compound, terrorism, militant attack, news
## 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.
## Key takeaway

The Pakistani Taliban faction claimed responsibility for a coordinated suicide bombing and gun attack on a mosque at a police compound in north-western Pakistan that killed at least 21 people, including 15 police officers.