Suspected Mastermind of Kohat Police Lines Mosque Blast Killed in Lakki Marwat Operation
Police have killed a suspected mastermind of last month’s deadly suicide attack on the old Kohat Police Lines in an intelligence-based operation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district. The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and security forces carried out the joint operation on Friday, October 16, 2026.
Officials identified the slain militant commander as Zahid Gul. They said he had played a key role in planning and facilitating the suicide bombing that struck a mosque inside the old Kohat Police Lines on September 18. At least 21 people, including 15 police personnel and six civilians, were killed when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle during Friday prayers.
Operation carried out in Lakki Marwat’s Wolai Sagai area
According to police officials, the operation took place in the Wolai Sagai area, next to the Bettani subdivision of Lakki Marwat, on the basis of intelligence reports. Gul was wanted by law enforcement agencies and was affiliated with the proscribed Gul Bahadur group.
Police alleged that Gul had guided the suicide bomber to the target. They further claimed that he had financed militant groups with money looted in a bank robbery in the Bilitang area of Kohat, where Rs6 million was taken. The money was then distributed among militant groups operating in the Baka Khel and Jani Khel areas of Bannu, officials said.
The officials also said Gul maintained close links with the Gul Bahadur group and had facilitated the arrival of several suicide bombers in Kohat. Around two months ago, they added, he had brought another suicide bomber to attack the new Kohat Police Lines, but law enforcement agencies foiled that plan.
A Pakistan Air Force installation and the police training school in Kohat were among the future targets of attacks allegedly planned by the slain commander, police claimed. They said other members of the militant network had already been taken into custody.
The allegations against Gul and the details of the operation came from police officials. No independent confirmation of the claims was reported.
Why this matters for K-P’s security fight
The killing marks a significant strike against the network behind one of the worst attacks on police in K-P this year. The September 18 blast at the old Kohat Police Lines mosque remains one of the deadliest incidents in the province’s recent history, and investigators had been tracing the facilitation chain ever since.
The operation also lands at a moment of an intensified security push in the province. The federal government imposed governor’s rule and emergency measures in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on October 11, transferring executive authority to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi and forming an 11-member advisory council to oversee administrative affairs. Since then, security forces have stepped up operations against militant networks across the province and Balochistan, where two terrorists were killed and 104 Afghan nationals arrested earlier this week.
Governor Kundi has meanwhile announced an amended welfare scheme for police officers and martyrs’ families, raising compensation for fallen personnel to up to Rs35 million, alongside a salary and welfare package for the K-P police force.
What happens next
Police said further investigations were underway to map the full extent of Gul’s network. The arrest of other members, they claimed, had already weakened the group. Security officials have not yet released a formal statement on the operation.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Zahid Gul?
Police identified Zahid Gul as a terrorist commander affiliated with the proscribed Gul Bahadur group. They alleged he planned and facilitated the September 18 suicide attack on the old Kohat Police Lines.
What happened in the Kohat Police Lines attack?
On September 18, 2026, a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden vehicle into a mosque inside the old Kohat Police Lines during Friday prayers. At least 21 people were killed, including 15 police personnel and six civilians.
Where was the operation carried out?
The joint CTD and security forces operation took place in the Wolai Sagai area of Lakki Marwat, next to the Bettani subdivision, on the basis of intelligence reports.
Was the bank robbery linked to the attack?
Police alleged that Gul was involved in a bank robbery in Kohat’s Bilitang area, in which Rs6 million was looted and distributed among militant groups in Bannu.
Source: The Express Tribune
