PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber struck Monday inside a mosque inside a police compound within the northwestern Pakistani metropolis of Peshawar, killing at the very least 28 folks and wounding as many as 150 worshippers, most of them policemen, officers mentioned.
The bombing drew nationwide condemnation from opposition political events and authorities officers. Ghulam Ali, the provincial governor in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the place Peshawar is the capital, mentioned there have been fears the loss of life toll may rise even additional.
A lot of the casualties have been policemen and law enforcement officials — the focused mosque is positioned inside a sprawling compound, which additionally serves as the town’s police headquarters. Police mentioned between 300 to 350 worshipers have been contained in the mosque when the bomber detonated his explosives.
Nobody instantly claimed duty for the bombing, mentioned Saddique Khan, a senior police official in Peshawar, however the Pakistani Taliban have been blamed in related suicide assaults up to now.
The police compound is positioned in a high-security zone in Peshawar, together with a number of authorities buildings, and it was unclear how the bomber managed to penetrate so deep contained in the zone unnoticed.
The influence of the explosion collapsed the roof of the mosque, which caved in and injured many, in response to Zafar Khan, an area police officer.
A survivor, 38-year-old police officer Meena Gul, mentioned he was contained in the mosque when the bomb went off. He mentioned he doesn’t know the way he survived unharmed. He may hear cries and screams after the bomb exploded, Gul mentioned.
Rescuers scrambled making an attempt to take away mounds of particles from the mosque grounds and get to worshippers nonetheless trapped underneath the rubble, police mentioned. At a close-by hospital, most of the wounded have been listed in important situation because the casualty toll rose.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in a press release condemned the bombing, and ordered authorities to make sure the absolute best medical therapy to the victims. He additionally vowed “stern motion” towards those that have been behind the assault.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan additionally condemned the bombing, calling it a “terrorist suicide assault” in a Twitter posting. “My prayers & condolences go to victims households,” mentioned the ex-premier. “It's crucial we enhance our intelligence gathering & correctly equip our police forces to fight the rising risk of terrorism.”
Peshawar has been the scene of frequent militant assaults. The Pakistani Taliban, are often known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, and are separate group but in addition a detailed ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized energy in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops have been within the remaining levels of their pullout from the nation after 20 years of conflict.
The TTP has waged an insurgency in Pakistan over the previous 15 years, preventing for stricter enforcement of Islamic legal guidelines within the nation, the discharge of their members who're in authorities custody and a discount of the Pakistani army presence within the nation’s former tribal areas.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant assaults since November when the Pakistani Taliban ended their cease-fire with authorities forces.
The truce ended as Pakistan was nonetheless contending with final summer season’s unprecedented flooding that killed 1,739 folks, destroyed greater than 2 million houses, and at one level submerged as a lot as one third of the nation. The flood damages totaled to greater than $30 billion and authorities are actually, months later, nonetheless struggling to rearrange tents, shelter and meals for the survivors.
Money-strapped Pakistan is presently additionally dealing with one of many worst financial disaster and is in search of a vital installment of $1.1 billion from the Worldwide Financial Fund — a part of its $6 billion bailout package deal — to keep away from default. Talks with the IMF on reviving the bailout have stalled up to now 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 US. Washington and Sharif have dismissed Khan’s claims.
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Related Press author Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.
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