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Investigators say a deadly suicide bombing at a Kohat mosque involved an Afghan national. The finding has intensified scrutiny of cross-border militant networks and security gaps.
Peshawar,UPDATED: Sep 19, 2026 18:22 IST
A suicide bombing at a mosque in northwest Pakistan that killed at least 21 people has been traced to Afghanistan, with investigators identifying one of the attackers as an Afghan national, officials said on Saturday.
The attack took place during Friday prayers, when militants detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the mosque and then stormed nearby police facilities in Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. At least 103 people were injured. Most of those killed and injured were police personnel who were offering prayers at the mosque.
According to a member of the investigation team, one of the attackers has been identified as an Afghan national, while efforts are under way to establish the identity of the second attacker. Police, the counter-terrorism department, the Elite Force and other security agencies are jointly investigating the identities of the attackers and possible cross-border links.
Security sources said efforts are continuing to trace the militant network behind the attack and identify those who facilitated it. The identification of the Afghan national has sharpened the focus of the investigation on possible cross-border elements involved in the strike.
Pakistani security authorities have repeatedly said that militant groups based in Afghanistan pose a threat of terrorism and cross-border infiltration into Pakistan. Following Friday's attack, scrutiny has again turned to possible links between militant groups in Afghanistan and terrorism in Pakistan. Pakistani officials have also accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing elements linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to operate from Afghan soil, an allegation denied by the Afghan Taliban.
A little-known militant group, Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group was formed in April 2025 and is an alliance of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, Harakat Inqilab-e-Islami Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Islam. Security forces also killed eight militants who were trying to enter the police compound after the blast, while the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police said key buildings in the compound had been cleared. The attack comes amid a rise in terror activities in Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in recent years.
With PTI Inputs
- Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Sep 19, 2026 18:22 IST
