The identity of the suicide bomber involved in the Kohat police lines bomb blast has been revealed as Matiullah, who is an Afghan national, as per the authorities.
According to the latest inquiry report, at least 21 people have been martyred and 103 injured in a suicide bomb blast at a mosque inside the Police Lines compound in Kohat on Friday, September 18.
According to the initial report, prepared by the Kohat District Health Officer and submitted to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) health secretary, said the explosion occurred at about 01:20pm, during Friday prayers at the mosque on Hangu Road.
The reports further said that the blast was followed by an attack involving between five and seven militants.
Of the 21 people martyred, 15 were police personnel, and six were civilians, according to the report.
One of the civilians killed was Dr Israel Khan Orakzai, a senior paediatrician at Liaquat Memorial Hospital in Kohat.
The attack took place inside a heavily secured police compound, where officers were attending Friday prayers.
The initial report added that 103 injured people were taken to hospitals following the attack.
Thirteen were treated at Liaquat Memorial Hospital, while 90 were taken to District Headquarters Hospital in Kohat.
The casualties included 73 police personnel and 30 civilians, the report said.
The health department briefed that 34 injured people are still hospitalised.
Five patients underwent laparotomy, an operation involving the abdomen. Four of them were subsequently transferred to specialist hospitals in Peshawar for further treatment.
Health authorities said that medical teams are continuously monitoring the injured and providing them with the best treatment.
The investigation into the attack remains under way. Authorities have not yet publicly established the identities or affiliations of all those involved.
The bomb blast occurred amid continuing militant violence in KP and heightened security tensions along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.
