At least 21 people were killed when a vehicle packed with explosives crashed into a mosque located within a police compound in Kohat, a city in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The attack occurred during Friday prayers, around 1:15 p.m. local time, and resulted in the deaths of 15 police officers and a four-year-old child, according to Pakistan’s official news agency, APP. Over 100 people were injured in the incident, which also involved a suicide bomber and armed gunmen who opened fire on the police facility. Footage from the scene, shared by BBC Verify, showed the area covered in rubble and people helping the injured. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police attributed the attack to a faction of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. This group, which was formed in 2007, seeks to impose a strict form of Islamic law and is linked to both al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban. According to police, the attackers were killed in the explosion and the ensuing gunfight. In a statement on X, the police force said it was "determined to foil the nefarious designs of Fitna-al-Khawarij," the term they use to refer to the TTP. Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his condolences for the injured and called for the "complete elimination" of foreign-backed terrorists. A United Nations spokesperson echoed this sentiment, stating that the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, "strongly condemns" the attack and calls for an end to violence against civilians and places of worship. This attack follows a series of similar incidents attributed to the TTP, including a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Islamabad in February that killed over 30 people. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Governor, Faisal Karim Kundi, highlighted the province’s ongoing struggle against terrorism, noting the "immense sacrifices" made in the fight. Militant activity has surged in Pakistan’s border regions in recent months, with armed groups increasingly targeting security forces. Islamabad has accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing militants to use Afghanistan as a safe haven for training and planning attacks. However, the Afghan government denies this, stating that such groups are a domestic issue for Pakistan.