PESHAWAR — November 12, 2026. At least 10 police officers and 18 militants were killed in a confrontation in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after an ambush on Wednesday, according to officials cited by the Associated Press.
Police were returning from an operation targeting alleged illegal gold-mining activity near Kohat when gunmen attacked their vehicles. Local police official Faisal Khan said two senior officers were among those killed and that fighting continued for hours.
Claim of responsibility
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), commonly called the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility, AP reported. Provincial police said militants cooperated with criminal networks and alleged involvement by foreign powers, but offered no public evidence for that latter allegation. KNA cannot independently verify the attackers’ identities or the full casualty count.
Afghanistan connection
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities of allowing TTP militants to operate from Afghan territory. Kabul rejects that accusation. The TTP is a separate organization from Afghanistan’s Taliban, though the two have longstanding ties. Cross-border tensions have grown amid militant attacks and Pakistani strikes on suspected militant positions in Afghanistan.
The Kohat incident illustrates the challenge of distinguishing criminal violence, militant operations and cross-border allegations. It does not, by itself, establish involvement by the Afghan state or any foreign government.
Source: Associated Press, November 11–12, 2026 — Militants ambush police in Pakistan. KNA has not independently interviewed police, witnesses or representatives of the TTP.
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