Pakistani Taliban claim attack that killed 10 police officers in northwest Pakistan
Provincial police say 18 fighters also died and 12 officers were wounded in Kohat district, where police were returning from an operation against illegal gold mining.
Militants ambushed police vehicles in Kohat district, in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on Wednesday. The province borders Afghanistan. Officials said at least 10 officers were killed in the gunbattle.
Local police official Faisal Khan reported that two of the fatalities were senior officers, and an exchange of fire was still ongoing. A provincial police statement said 10 officers and 18 fighters were killed and 12 police personnel were wounded. It said the officers were coming back from a mining site in the Gumbat area, and Al Jazeera reports they had been conducting an operation against illegal gold mining.
Hours later, Al Jazeera reports, the Pakistani Taliban, known as the TTP, issued a statement claiming the attack. Citing AFP, Al Jazeera reports that a senior Kohat official said fighters set two police vehicles on fire and that two other police vehicles and a private vehicle were missing. Another senior official said 10 Pakistan Taliban fighters were killed in a separate operation in the district.
The TTP is separate from the Afghan Taliban but closely allied with it. Pakistan frequently accuses Afghanistan's Taliban government of sheltering TTP fighters. Kabul denies this.
- at least 10 officerspolice killed in the ambush, according to officials quoted by APABC News
- 10 officers and 18 fighterskilled, per provincial police statementAl Jazeera English
- 12 police personnelwounded, per provincial police statementAl Jazeera English
- 10 fightersPakistan Taliban members killed in a separate operation in Kohat district, per a senior administrative official in the Orakzai areaAl Jazeera English
Three sides of the story
4 news outlets reported this
Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.
Liberal2 outlets
A deadly attack and the Pakistani Taliban's claim
Al Jazeera English leads with the toll: 10 officers and 18 fighters killed after gunmen attacked police on an operation against illegal gold mining. It cites a provincial police statement, adds that 12 police personnel were wounded and says the Pakistani Taliban claimed the attack hours later. It cites an AFP-sourced Kohat official on burned and missing vehicles and a second official on 10 fighters killed elsewhere in the district.
It frames the attack more broadly: security forces say the violence originates in Afghanistan, which the Taliban government in Kabul rejects, while UN data show hundreds of civilians have died in clashes between the two nations this past year. ABC News runs the AP wire report, headlined "Militants ambush police vehicles in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 10 officers." It quotes local police official Faisal Khan on the dead and says no group had immediately claimed responsibility, though suspicion is likely to fall on the TTP.
Center1 outlet
An ambush on police in Kohat
The Seattle Times runs the AP wire report under the headline "Militants ambush police vehicles in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 10 officers." It reports the ambush on Wednesday, and places Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. It quotes local police official Faisal Khan, who said two of the dead were senior police officers and that an exchange of fire was ongoing.
He gave no further details. The report names the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, which it says has increased attacks on security forces in the region, as the likely suspect, though no group had immediately claimed responsibility. It adds that the TTP is separate from the Afghan Taliban but closely allied with them, and that Pakistan accuses Kabul of sheltering TTP militants, which Kabul denies.
Conservative1 outlet
Police officers killed in a militant ambush
The New York Post runs the AP wire report under the headline "At least 10 cops killed after militants ambush police vehicles in Pakistan." The report opens on Wednesday's ambush of vehicles carrying officers in northwestern Pakistan. A gunbattle followed, and officials said at least 10 officers died.
Local police official Faisal Khan placed the attack in Kohat, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. Khan said two of the dead were senior police officers. Security forces and the attackers were still trading fire, he said, and he offered nothing more.
The report says no group had immediately claimed responsibility. It adds that suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, a group it says has intensified assaults against forces of order across the area.
Which side made the stronger case?
We will email you when the story continues. At most one email a day.
All sources: 4 articles from 4 outlets
Liberal (2)
- ABC News: Militants ambush police vehicles in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 10 officers
- Al Jazeera English: Ten police officers, 18 fighters killed in northwest Pakistan attack
Center (1)
- The Seattle Times: Militants ambush police vehicles in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 10 officers
Conservative (1)
The evening briefing by email
One email a day, around 8:30 p.m. New York time: the seven main stories, each with its three sides, and the blind spot of the day. Unsubscribe with one tap.
A Telegram channel is coming soon.