PESHAWAR – According to officials, a suicide bomber struck a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday, killing at least 100 people and wounding 270 others.
Highlights
- Death Toll: 100
- Injured: 270
As the targeted mosque in Pakistan serves as the city’s police headquarters, most of the casualties were police officers.
The Pakistani Taliban have been implicated in similar suicide attacks in the past. Still, no one has immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, according to Saddique Khan, a senior police official in Peshawar.
Police chief Ijaz Khan provided the latest death toll as casualties increased.
There were approximately 200 worshippers inside or on their way to the mosque when the suicide bomber detonated his suicide vest.
In Peshawar, the police compound and several government buildings are in a high-security zone. It is unclear how the bomber penetrated the area without being detected.
According to Zafar Khan, a local police officer, the explosion’s impact collapsed the mosque’s roof, resulting in many injuries.
The bomb went off inside the mosque, said Meena Gul, 38, a police officer. As far as he is concerned, he does not know how he survived the accident uninjured. Following the explosion, Gul said that he heard cries and screams.
To rescue worshippers trapped beneath the rubble, rescuers scrambled to remove debris from the mosque grounds.
As the casualty toll rose, several wounded were listed in critical condition at a nearby hospital.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the bombing in a statement and instructed authorities to ensure that the victims receive the best possible medical care. A stern response was also promised against the perpetrators of the attack.
A tweet by Imran Khan, the former prime minister, condemned the bombing as a “terrorist suicide attack.”
The former premier expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.
Our intelligence gathering must be improved, and our police must be adequately equipped to combat the growing threat of terrorism.”
In recent years, Peshawar has been the scene of frequent militant attacks as it is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan.
It is known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. Although the Pakistani Taliban are distinct from the Afghan Taliban, they are also a close ally of the Afghan Taliban. As US and NATO troops prepared to withdraw from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, the Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August of 2021.
For the past 15 years, the TTP has waged an insurgency against the Pakistani government, attempting to enforce Islamic laws more strictly, release their members in government custody, and reduce the Pakistani military presence in the former tribal areas the country.
Following the end of the Pakistani Taliban’s ceasefire with government forces in November, Pakistan has experienced a surge in militant attacks.
To be updated…
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