Ten police officers and 18 militants were killed in northwestern Pakistan during an operation targeting illegal gold mining, according to an official police statement reported by Khaleej Times. The incident occurred in the Gumbat area of Kohat district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday. Provincial police stated that officers were returning from a mine when militants opened fire on their convoy. In addition to the fatalities, 12 police personnel were wounded in the ensuing fighting, the statement said.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack, including a strike on a police convoy in the Gumbat area. Earlier reports from senior administrative officials in Kohat indicated that militants set two police vehicles on fire during the assault. Two other police vehicles and one private vehicle were reported missing. In a separate operation in the same district, 10 militants belonging to the TTP were killed, and a large quantity of weapons was recovered by security forces.
Security forces are currently battling an intensifying militancy in the border province. Officials attribute the violence to emanations from Afghanistan, an accusation that the Taliban government in Kabul denies. Relations between the two nations have been fraught since the Taliban authorities took power in 2021. Tensions worsened after deadly border clashes in October of the previous year, which led to a near-total closure of the border.
In other developments across Africa, authorities in Zambia have launched a formalisation exercise for artisanal mining. The Minerals Regulation Commission (MRC) has called on informal miners in Mpika District to vacate identified sites, including Kamambwe, Kanyelele, and Danger Hill. This move aims to demarcate areas and allocate mining rights to eligible Zambian citizens under the Minerals Regulation Act No. 14 of 2024. MRC Director General Tom Hara stated the exercise is designed to bring mining activities under the established regulatory framework.
Meanwhile, police in Malawi have arrested 71 people for illegally mining precious stones inside the protected Nkhotakota Forest Reserve. The suspects were apprehended along the Likowa River during an operation targeting the exploitation of natural resources. Nkhotakota Police spokesperson Chisomo Chuma noted that the group includes 20 children below the age of 18 and four women. The suspects face charges for unlawful entry into a protected forest, possession of prohibited equipment, and illegal mining without proper documentation.