Peshawar Mosque Attack: A police official in Pakistan claimed that the suicide bombing at a mosque within a police headquarters was an intentional act of retaliation. As rescue operations came to a close, the death toll stood at 100.
According to local media reports, a fidayeen attack took place in a mosque in the Police Line area of Peshawar Mosque. At that time the policemen were offering prayers in the mosque. After the blast, dead bodies were visible all around, officials said that people are still buried under the debris. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has taken responsibility for this suicide attack.
After the fidayeen attack, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that terrorists wanted to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of protecting Pakistan. The Peshawar mosque attack is the biggest ever in a series of attacks by the TTP targeting security forces and their establishments.
Search For Survivors
97 police officers and three civilians were among those who died, according to interior minister Rana Sanaullah, who also reported that 27 patients remain in critical condition.
Authorities are looking into how a significant security breach could occur in one of the city’s most strictly regulated neighborhoods, which is home to the regional secretariat’s intelligence and counterterrorism offices.
Numerous mass prayer rituals have already been held to bury dozens of dead police officers, whose coffins were arranged in rows and covered with the Pakistani flag as a guard of honor was presented.
“Terrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement.
In a statement on Tuesday, the White House echoed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ remarks that the attack was “unconscionable” and termed such violence “abhorrent.”
Prior to the elections scheduled for October, Pakistan is already suffering from a severe economic crisis and political stalemate.
300 to 400 policemen were present at the spot
Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan told local media that 300 to 400 policemen were in the area at the time of the explosion. In a statement, Sharif said those behind the attack have nothing to do with Islam, adding that the entire country stands united against the menace of terrorism. At the same time, questions are also arising as to how the fidayeen attacker entered the mosque amid the presence of a large number of policemen in the area. Most of the policemen are involved in those who died in this blast.
Also Read: The Angel’s Home: Priyanka and Nick’s Daughter Finally Makes A Public Appearance
The blast occurred at around 1.30 pm during afternoon prayers in the northwestern city located near the country’s border with Afghanistan. It can be seen in the viral video on social media that half of the wall of the mosque has collapsed. The mosque is covered with bricks and debris, people climbed over the debris to escape. Shafiullah Khan, the deputy commissioner of Peshawar city, said that rescue operations were on inside the mosque and more bodies were being retrieved. Khan said, “At the moment our priority is to rescue the people buried under the debris.”