PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A suicide bomber struck inside a mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring up to 96 worshippers, officials said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, said Saddique Khan, a senior Peshawar police official who gave the latest casualty toll, but the Pakistani Taliban have been blamed for similar suicide attacks in the past.
The bomber detonated his suicide vest as some 150 worshipers – including many officers from nearby police offices – prayed inside. The impact of the blast caused the roof of the mosque to collapse, causing many to be injured, according to Zafar Khan, a local police officer.
One survivor, 38-year-old policeman Meena Gul, said he was inside the mosque when the bomb exploded. He says he doesn’t know how he survived unscathed. He could hear shouting and shouting after the bomb exploded, Gul said.
Rescuers rushed to try and remove mounds of debris from the mosque’s grounds and reach worshipers still trapped under the rubble, police said. Khan said several of the injured were listed in critical condition in a hospital and the death toll was feared to rise.
In a statement, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the bombing and ordered authorities to ensure the best possible medical treatment for the victims. He also vowed “stern action” against those behind the attack.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan also condemned the bombing, calling it a “terrorist suicide bombing” in a Twitter post. “My prayers and condolences go out to the families of the victims,” the former prime minister said. “It is imperative to improve our intelligence gathering and properly equip our police forces to counter the growing threat of terrorism.”
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan and has been the scene of frequent militant attacks.
The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, is a separate group but also a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as US troops and of NATO were in the final stages of their withdrawal from the country after 20 years of war.
The TTP has led an insurgency in Pakistan for the past 15 years, fighting for stricter enforcement of Islamic laws in the country, the release of its government-detained members and a reduction in the Pakistani military presence in former tribal areas. from the country.