Pakistan mosque bombing: At least 34 dead, 150 wounded inside police compound – National | 24CA News
A suicide bomber detonated explosives throughout crowded prayers at a mosque inside a police compound in Pakistan on Monday, inflicting the roof to collapse. At least 34 folks had been killed and 150 wounded, officers mentioned.
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Most of the casualties had been law enforcement officials. It was not clear how the bomber was in a position to slip into the walled compound, which homes the northwestern metropolis of Peshawar’s police headquarters and is itself situated in a high-security zone with different authorities buildings.
Sarbakaf Mohmand, a commander for the Pakistani Taliban, claimed duty for the assault on Twitter. The important spokesman for the militant group was not instantly out there for remark.
Pakistan has seen a surge in militant assaults since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended their ceasefire with authorities forces. This was one of many deadliest assaults on safety forces in recent times.
More than 300 worshippers had been praying contained in the mosque, with extra approaching, when the bomber set off his explosives vest. Many had been injured when the roof got here down, in response to Zafar Khan, a neighborhood police officer.
Rescuers scrambled to take away mounds of particles from the mosque grounds to achieve worshippers nonetheless trapped below the rubble, police mentioned.
Meena Gul, who was contained in the mosque when the bomb went off, mentioned he doesn’t know the way he survived unharmed. The 38-year-old police officer mentioned he might hear cries and screams after the bomb exploded.
Siddique Khan, a police official, mentioned the loss of life toll rose to 34, and the lifeless included Noor-ul-Amin, the prayer chief. He mentioned the attacker blew himself up whereas among the many worshippers.
People consolation a person mourning subsequent to the coffin of his member of the family, who was killed in a suicide bombing inside a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, Jan. 30, 2023.
AP Photo/Muhammad Riaz
Peshawar police chief Ijaz Khan mentioned not less than 150 had been wounded. A close-by hospital listed lots of the wounded in important situation, elevating considerations the loss of life toll might nonetheless rise.
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the place the Pakistani Taliban have a robust presence, and the town has been the scene of frequent militant assaults.
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The militant group, also referred to as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, has waged an insurgency in Pakistan over the previous 15 years. It seeks the stricter enforcement of Islamic legal guidelines, the discharge of their members who’re in authorities custody and a discount within the Pakistani army presence in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that it has longed used as its base.
The group is separate from however a detailed ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized energy in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops pulled in another country after 20 years of struggle.
The authorities’s truce with the TTP ended as Pakistan was nonetheless contending with unprecedented flooding that killed 1,739 folks, destroyed greater than 2 million properties, and at one level submerged as a lot as one third of the nation.
Mohmand, of the militant group, mentioned a fighter carried out the assault to avenge the killing of Abdul Wali, who was extensively referred to as Omar Khalid Khurasani, and was killed in neighboring Afghanistan’s Paktika province in August 2022.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the bombing, and ordered authorities to make sure the absolute best medical therapy for the victims. He additionally vowed “stern action” towards those that had been behind the assault.
Sharif traveled to Peshawar and visited the wounded on the hospital. His workplace mentioned he would obtain a briefing concerning the safety state of affairs within the northwest.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan referred to as the bombing a “terrorist suicide attack” in a Twitter submit. “My prayers & condolences go to victims families,” mentioned the ex-premier. “It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering & properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism.”
Cash-strapped Pakistan is presently going through a extreme financial disaster and is looking for a vital installment of $1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund — a part of its $6 billion bailout bundle — to keep away from default. Talks with the IMF on reviving the bailout have stalled previously months.
Sharif’s authorities got here to energy final April after Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Khan has since campaigned for early elections, claiming his ouster was unlawful and a part of a plot backed by the United States. Washington and Sharif have dismissed Khan’s claims.
— Associated Press author Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.
© 2023 The Canadian Press
