Pakistani forces end 20-hour standoff with militants in the northwest

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani security forces on Saturday ended a standoff with militants holed up inside a police compound in northwestern Pakistan, officials said. The confrontation began Friday after a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a mosque , and gunmen stormed the facility, killing 21 people and wounding 103 others. The coordinated attack occurred at a compound in Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. Many of the casualties were police officers and people attending prayers at a mosque. Several militants took up positions inside the complex, and a shootout with security officers ensued, police official Mohammad Sadiq said.

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Scoop News DeskPeshawar · Published Saturday, September 19, 2026 at 6:12 PM UTCUpdated Saturday, September 19, 2026 at 6:28 PM UTC

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In 2023, a suicide bomber killed 101 people, mostly police officers, at a mosque inside a heavily fortified police compound in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan’s Information Ministry on Saturday appeared to leave open the possibility of new strikes inside Afghanistan, and blamed the attack on militants with alleged roots in Afghanistan and accused the Afghan Taliban government of sheltering and supporting groups that launch attacks inside Pakistan. “The attack, perpetrated by the vilest of Khawarij with roots in Afghanistan, reminds us that terrorism has no religion and no justification.