Pakistan police HQ attack kills 31; TTP-linked group claims

An attack on a police headquarters in northern Pakistan has killed at least 31 people, including 16 police personnel, and injured more than 100, a senior police official told AFP on Saturday, as fighting continued inside the compound.

Attackers stormed the Old Police Lines complex in Kohat, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on Friday afternoon. The compound serves as a district-level police headquarters and houses offices of the Counter Terrorism Department, Special Branch and other police units.

The police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said several militants were still holed up in the Special Branch section of the Kohat Police Complex. The official said an exchange of fire had been ongoing since late Friday night and that the number of attackers remained unclear.

A statement from the Kohat district health officer late Friday said more than 100 people had been injured, most of them police personnel, and that several were in critical condition.

Local militant group Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, described as a faction linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack on Friday evening, directed that the injured receive medical assistance and called for a report. President Asif Ali Zardari expressed regret over the casualties and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Pakistan has blamed rising attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan on militancy emanating from Afghanistan. The Taliban government in Kabul denies Afghan involvement.