Pakistan mosque suicide bomber kills 59, wounds over 150

Sarbakaf Mohmand, a commander for the Pakistani Taliban, often known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, claimed duty for the assault in a put up on Twitter.

But hours later, TTP spokesperson Mohammad Khurasani distanced the group from the bombing, saying it was not its coverage to focus on mosques, seminaries and spiritual locations, including that these collaborating in such acts might face punitive motion below TTP’s coverage. His assertion didn’t tackle why a TTP commander had claimed duty for the bombing.

“The sheer scale of the human tragedy is unimaginable. This is no less than an attack on Pakistan,” tweeted Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who visited the wounded in Peshawar and vowed “stern action” towards these behind the bombing. He expressed his condolences to households of the victims, saying their ache ”can’t be described in phrases.”

Pakistan, which is usually Sunni Muslim, has seen a surge in militant assaults since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended their cease-fire with authorities forces.

Earlier this month, the Pakistani Taliban claimed considered one of its members shot and killed two intelligence officers, together with the director of the counterterrorism wing of the nation’s military-based spy company Inter-Services Intelligence. Security officers mentioned Monday the gunman was traced and killed in a shootout within the northwest close to the Afghan border.

The TTP is separate from however an in depth ally of the Afghan Taliban. The TTP has waged an insurgency in Pakistan up to now 15 years, searching for stricter enforcement of Islamic legal guidelines, the discharge of its members in authorities custody and a discount within the Pakistani army presence in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province it has lengthy used as its base.

Monday’s assault on a Sunni mosque contained in the police facility was one of many deadliest assaults on safety forces lately.

More than 300 worshippers have been praying within the mosque, with extra approaching, when the bomber set off his explosives vest. Many have been injured when the roof got here down, in line with Zafar Khan, a police officer, and rescuers needed to take away mounds of particles to succeed in worshippers nonetheless trapped below the rubble.

Meena Gul, who was within 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 heard cries and screams after the blast.

Mohammad Asim, a spokesman on the predominant authorities hospital in Peshawar, put the dying toll at 59, with 157 others wounded. Police official Siddique Khan mentioned the bomber blew himself up whereas among the many worshippers.

Senior police and authorities officers attended the funerals of 30 cops and preparations to bury the remaining have been being made. Coffins have been wrapped within the Pakistani flag their our bodies have been later handed over to kinfolk for burials.

Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the place the Pakistani Taliban have a robust presence, and town has been the scene of frequent militant assaults.

The Afghan Taliban seized energy in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops pulled overseas after 20 years of conflict.

The Pakistani authorities’s truce with the TTP ended because the nation was nonetheless contending with unprecedented flooding that killed 1,739 folks, destroyed greater than 2 million houses, and at one level submerged as a lot as a 3rd of the nation.022.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry mentioned in a press release that it was “saddened to learn that numerous people lost their lives and many others were injured by an explosion at a mosque in Peshawar” and condemned assaults on worshippers as opposite to the teachings of Islam.

Condemnations additionally got here from the Saudi Embassy in Islamabad, in addition to the U.S. Embassy, including that “The United States stands with Pakistan in condemning all forms of terrorism.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres known as the bombing “particularly abhorrent” for concentrating on a spot of worship, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric mentioned.

Cash-strapped Pakistan faces a extreme financial disaster and is searching 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 up to now months.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan known as the bombing a “terrorist suicide attack.” He tweeted: “My prayers & condolences go to victims families. It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering & properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism.”

Sharif’s authorities got here to energy in April after 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 dismiss Khan’s claims.

Associated Press author Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed.