Ambush in Kohat kills at least 10 police officers

Police officers returning from an operation against illegal gold mining in Kohat district, northwestern Pakistan, were ambushed Wednesday, leaving at least 10 officers dead and 12 wounded, according to provincial police. The police account also said 18 fighters were killed in the ensuing exchange of fire.

The officers were returning from a mine in the Gumbat area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when armed men opened fire, the provincial police statement said. The casualty figures for the clash have not been independently established in the reports. A local police official separately reported that at least 10 officers had been killed while the exchange of fire was ongoing.

Rescue 1122 spokesperson Jawad Afridi said 12 police personnel had been taken to hospital. He said injured officers had reported several bodies at the scene, before the provincial police statement gave its account of the deaths. Reports identified Deputy Superintendent of Police Haider Zaman among the injured; another account named him among those killed, leaving his status unclear in the reporting.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, claimed responsibility for attacks including the Gumbat convoy assault,...