A suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden vehicle rammed the gate of the Old Police Lines compound in Kohat, a district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, during Friday prayers on 18 September 2026. At least 21 people died — 16 police officers and five civilians — and more than 70 were wounded, according to local officials cited by Geo News and other Pakistani media.

The blast left a crater outside the mosque inside the compound and damaged the building's facade. Police said six militants, including the bomber, were killed, and that a clearance operation was under way. The province's police inspector general reported a second suicide blast at a special branch police building during an exchange of gunfire. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though both the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and a regional Daesh affiliate are active in the area and frequently target security forces.

President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack and said eliminating the TTP — which Islamabad refers to as Fitna al-Khawarij — was essential to national security. In a separate incident the same day, security forces killed seven militants during two operations in southwestern Balochistan province, state media reported.

The Kohat attack is part of a sharp escalation in violence along the border with Afghanistan. In early August, 14 people were killed by a suicide bomber outside a police station in the Swat Valley, where hundreds had gathered to protest against rising violence — itself the latest in a string of attacks on police in recent months.

For travellers, the picture is stark: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the areas bordering Afghanistan remain high-risk, and several governments already advise against all but essential travel to much of the province and to Balochistan. Popular routes such as the Karakoram Highway and tourist spots like Hunza and Skardu sit far from these flashpoints, but anyone with trips planned to Pakistan should check their foreign office's current advice, monitor local reporting, and avoid police, military and government installations — which have been the consistent targets in this wave of attacks. Those already in-country should register with their embassy and keep flexible itineraries.

Story reported by Daily Sabah Travel.