Peshawar, Sept 19 (NVI) The attack by a group of heavily-armed men on Police Headquarters in Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan continued this morning, even after 20 hours it began, and the death tol rose to 31 with over 150 injured.
The armed suicide attackers continue to be in control of the complex despite the Pakistan Army putting hundreds of commandos into service to eliminate them.
Several police personnel and other security men are trapped inside the complex and sounds of heavy gunfire continue to resonate in the area.
Most of the dead are police and paramilitary personnel.
The fighters launched a massive attack on a police complex, which housed a mosque as well, during the mid-day Friday prayers, with a suicide bomber, driving a explosives-laden vehicle, blowing it up.
Subsequently, his associates, said to be 6 in number, entered the complex and fired indiscriminately on the security personnel inside.
A large contingent of Pakistan Army was sent to the site last night itself but they failed to clear the premises till midnight as the attackers continued to be active with sounds of gunfire resonating in the area.
By midnight, the death toll rose to 23, including 15 security personnel and 7 civilians, according to officials.
An SP-rank police officer was among those killed in the attack, according to reports.
The blast caused destruction of the mosque and extensive damage to the police complex.
The death toll is likely to increase as several injured people are said to be in critical condition. (NVI)
