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At least 10 police officers and 18 suspected militants have been killed in violence in northwestern Pakistan after gunmen attacked security personnel returning from an operation targeting illegal gold mining, according to provincial authorities.

The attack occurred on Wednesday in Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where police officers had been conducting an operation at a mine in the Gumbat area.

According to a statement issued by provincial police, armed men opened fire on the officers as they were returning from the operation, triggering a deadly confrontation.

In addition to the fatalities, 12 police personnel were wounded in the attack.

Hours after the incident, the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the assault.

Police vehicles set ablaze during attack

A senior administrative official in Kohat told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the attackers had set two police vehicles on fire during the confrontation.

The official added that two other police vehicles and a privately owned vehicle were missing following the assault.

The circumstances surrounding the missing vehicles were not immediately clarified.

A spokesperson for a local emergency service confirmed that rescue teams had responded to a shooting involving police personnel in Kohat district.

The spokesperson said emergency workers were providing medical assistance to approximately a dozen injured officers.

Meanwhile, a separate security operation was reported in the Orakzai area of Kohat.

According to a senior administrative official, 10 Pakistani Taliban fighters were killed during that operation, while security forces recovered a substantial quantity of weapons.

The authorities did not immediately clarify whether the militants killed in the separate operation were directly involved in the earlier attack on police.

The latest confrontation comes amid escalating militant violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province bordering Afghanistan that has experienced repeated attacks on police and security forces.

Pakistani authorities have accused armed groups of using territory across the Afghan border to organise and launch attacks against security personnel inside Pakistan.

The Taliban-led government in Kabul has repeatedly rejected allegations that Afghanistan is being used as a base for militant operations against neighbouring countries.

The Pakistani Taliban, which is separate from Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement, has been responsible for numerous attacks against Pakistani security forces.

*cover image credit: AFP