Mosque attack highlights evolving extremism landscape that has brought Pakistan-Afghanistan ties to crisis point

Filed 1h ago · Via The Conversation · The Buffoon Desk

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Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Artuš Scheiner · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

A suicide bombing and gun battle at a mosque in Kohat, Pakistan killed 31 people, including 16 police officers, during Friday prayers on Sept. 18, 2026. The Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan coalition claimed responsibility, while the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, the Afghan Taliban and Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent all publicly disavowed the attack.

Pakistan responded with airstrikes into Afghanistan, escalating tension between the two governments, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of harboring militants. The analysis notes Pakistan now ranks first on the Global Terrorism Index, driven by both cooperation and competition among overlapping militant factions along the border region.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

Source: Read the original at The Conversation → Scored: Gypsy Shoegazer No Voices · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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