Ten police officers, 18 fighters killed in northwest Pakistan attack

Detailed summary

Officers were returning from a mine in Kohat district when fighters opened fire on them, authorities say.

Gunmen have attacked police officers conducting an operation against illegal gold mining in northwestern Pakistan, with 10 officers and 18 fighters killed in the ensuing violence.

A statement by provincial police in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said officers were returning from a mine in the Gumbat area of Kohat district on Wednesday when armed men opened fire on them.

In addition to the dozens killed, 12 police personnel were wounded, the statement said.

Hours later, the Pakistani Taliban issued a statement claiming the attack.

Earlier, a senior administrative official in Kohat told the AFP news agency that fighters had set two police vehicles on fire during the assault, while two other police vehicles and one private vehicle were missing.

Another senior administrative official in the Orakzai area of Kohat said that 10 fighters belonging to the Pakistan Taliban were killed during a separate operation in the district.

A large quantity of weapons was also recovered from the fighters, the official said.

A spokesman for a local emergency service said earlier on Wednesday that there had been a “firing incident involving police personnel” in Kohat district, adding that rescue workers were treating a dozen wounded officers.

Security forces are battling intensifying violence in the border province that they say emanates from Afghanistan, an accusation the Taliban government in Kabul rejects.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Al Jazeera. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.