Bomb blast at police headquarters leaves 20 dead

At least 20 people were killed and more than 50 injured in a bomb attack on police headquarters in the town of Kohat, north-west Pakistan, on Tuesday. Women and children are among the casualties, according to local officials.

Kohat and its surrounding areas have been the scene for several terrorist attacks, including this blast in Kacha Pukha in April 2010. Reuters/Fayaz Aziz

Six policemen are among the dead, a police spokesman said. A nearby police residential complex had also been severely damaged and houses had collapsed, trapping several people in the rubble.

Officers are still investigating whether the bomb was remotely detonated, or worn by a suicide bomber.

Hours before the attack, the local Taliban told Reuters that they would continue to target the security forces and government buildings in vengeance for US drone attacks near Pakistan's northern tribal region.

Kohat's police headquarters have been repeatedly attacked in the past, most recently by a suicide car bomber in April who killed seven people and wounded 26.

On Monday, 19 people died in after a suicide attack on a police station in nearby Lakki Marwat.