Blast and gun attack at historic police HQ in Pakistan kills 16

An explosion and gun attack at a historic police headquarters in northern Pakistan on Friday killed at least 16 people and wounded 37 more, officials said, with the country's president swiftly blaming a militant group.

A search-and-rescue operation was under way following the blast in Kohat in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to Bilal Ahmed Faizi from the 1122 rescue services.

A senior police official from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police force told AFP that 16 people were killed, including five police officers.

"Four attackers, including the sniper and the suicide bomber, have been killed while the clearance operation is under way," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Faizi said more than 45 rescue personnel had been deployed to the site at the Old Police Lines in Kohat, a town of around 220,000 people.

"Rescue 1122 teams are actively engaged in the search-and-rescue operation at the site, and relief activities will continue until the operation concludes," he said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the area has been gripped by a violent campaign by the Islamist militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari expressed "regret" over the casualties, sending his "best wishes for the speedy recovery of those injured in the blast".

"The complete elimination of Fitna-al-Khawarij and terrorists operating with foreign backing is essential for national security," he said, using another term for the TTP group.

Pakistan has blamed the increase in attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southern border province of Balochistan on militancy emanating from Afghanistan, where the Taliban government denies Afghan involvement.

The accusations have sparked a bitter rift and armed conflict between the neighbouring countries, and Pakistan has carried out deadly airstrikes it says target militants on Afghan soil.

The Taliban government in Kabul and the United Nations said dozens of civilians were killed in the latest Pakistani strikes on eastern Afghanistan in June.