Eleven policemen killed in Kohat ambush during illegal gold mining raid

At least 11 police personnel were killed and 12 wounded when armed men ambushed a police party during an operation against illegal gold mining in Kohat district, The Express Tribune reported, citing the office of the Inspector General of Police in Peshawar.

Geo News put the number of policemen killed at 10 and said 18 attackers died in the exchange of fire. Minute Mirror, in an initial report, said eight personnel were injured and that no deaths had been confirmed at the time.

The Express Tribune named two of the dead as DSP Gumbat Haider Zaman and Sub-Inspector Mukhtar Ahmed. The ambush took place in the Dar Bokach area of Gumbat tehsil, inside the jurisdiction of Gumbat police station. Geo News gave the location as Darabo Kach and Minute Mirror as Darbooch, near Gambat police station.

The Express Tribune said the police were attacked during the operation against a network allegedly run through a nexus of militants and criminal groups. Geo News said the police party was attacked as it returned after completing the operation, and that armed men set a police mobile on fire.

Police described the attackers as members of "Fitna al-Khawarij", a term officials use for the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Geo News quoted police as saying the assault was carried out at the behest of criminal elements and external forces, and called it proof of organised links between a criminal mafia and militants.

Reinforcements of police and security forces reached the area. The Express Tribune reported that firing by the attackers was continuing at the time, with injuries reported on both sides. The Kohat district police officer said a pursuit was under way and would continue until the last "Kharji" was eliminated.

Rescue 1122 Kohat spokesperson Jawad Afridi said rescue teams were sent to move the dead and the injured, who were taken to the Divisional Headquarters Teaching Hospital in Kohat, where an emergency was declared.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the attack and the alleged nexus between militants and criminal elements involved in illegal gold mining, and directed police authorities to submit a detailed report. He offered condolences to the families of the dead.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a late-night statement reported by Geo News, condemned the attack in the Darabukach area, paid tribute to the police personnel including DSP Haider Zaman, and said the nexus between criminal elements and Fitna al-Khawarij was an attempt to spread unrest in the country. He said there would be no compromise on Pakistan's peace and stability.

Geo News reported that the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies recorded 225 militant attacks across the country in September 2026, compared with 199 in August, the third consecutive monthly increase. Pakistan has repeatedly asked Kabul to prevent its territory from being used for attacks inside the country.