An afternoon prayertime suicide bombing at a mosque in Pakistan resulted in the deaths of dozens of worshipers and the injuries of 150 more.
In the Peshawar mosque in northwest Pakistan on Monday, the bomber detonated his suicide vest while congregants, including numerous police officials, were worshiping there.
At least 34 people were murdered in the assault, and several casualties were buried beneath debris when the mosque’s roof collapsed due to the blast’s impact.
The majority of those killed were police officers, who are thought to have been the attack’s intended target.
The bomber, according to security, was seated in the mosque’s first row.
According to Peshawar Police officer Muhammad Ijaz Khan, there were between 300 and 400 police officers in the neighborhood when the incident occurred.
Several of the injured were classified in serious condition at a hospital, according to local police officer Zafar Khan, and there were concerns that the death toll might grow.
Meena Gul, a 38-year-old police officer who survived, claimed to have been at the mosque when the device detonated.
He stated he had no idea how he managed to escape unharmed. Gul said that when the device detonated, he could hear cries and screams.
According to authorities, rescuers raced to clear the mosque’s grounds of piles of debris so they could reach worshipers who were still buried under it.
In a statement, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif denounced the blast and instructed officials to ensure that the wounded received the finest medical care possible.
In addition, he promised to take “severe measures” against the perpetrators of the crime.
Imran Khan, a former prime minister, also denounced the blast and referred to it as a “terrorist suicide attack” in an online tweet.
My sympathies and condolences are sent to the families of the victims, the ex-prime minister stated.
“It is crucial that we strengthen our information collection and adequately equip our police forces to face the evolving danger of terrorism,” the statement reads.
The provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar, which borders Afghanistan, has seen a lot of terrorist strikes.
The capital’s Islamabad Police issued a security high-alert and said that security had been stepped up at all ports of entrance and departure.
Another attack that targeted a mosque in Imam Saheb in April resulted in the deaths of several people inside the Sunni Mawlawi Sekandar Mosque.
According to Saddique Khan, a top police officer in Peshawar, no one has yet claimed responsibility for the blast although the Pakistani Taliban have been implicated in similar suicide assaults in the past.
The Afghan Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, who took control of the neighboring nation in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO soldiers were about to leave after 20 years of conflict, are a distinct organization but also close allies of the Pakistani Taliban.
The TTP has been waging an insurgency in Pakistan for the last 15 years, calling for a more stringent application of Islamic law there, the release of its detained members, and a decrease in Pakistani military involvement in the nation’s erstwhile tribal areas.
»Pakistani mosque suicide bombing kills dozens and injures 150«