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Dozens of worshippers have been killed and 170 injured in a suicide bomb attack on a mosque in Pakistan during afternoon prayers.
The bomber detonated his suicide vest as hundreds of worshippers – including many police officers – were praying inside the mosque in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan on Monday.
At least 59 people were killed in the attack, with scores of victims buried under rubble as the impact of the blast caused the mosque’s roof to collapse.
The majority of those killed were members of the police force, who are believed to have been the target of the attack.
The suicide bomb attack collapsed a mosque roof and killed worshippers in Pakistan. Four hundred people are believed to have been praying when the bomb exploded
Pakistan’s security officials gather will attend funeral prayers for police officers who were killed in a mosque blast inside the police headquarters
An injured man is stretchered away from the bomb site. Latest figures suggest the blast killed 59 people and injured 170
Security forces near the site of the attack in Peshawar, Pakistan. It is believed that the targets of the bomb were police officers
Dozens of people were killed in the suicide bombing and 170 were injured
Rescue workers carry the remains of the blast victims from the debris of a damaged mosque after a blast inside the police headquarters in Peshawar on Monday
Police officers shift their injured colleague to a hospital after the blast at a Mosque to a hospital in Peshawar on Monday
An injured victim of a suicide bombing talks on his mobile phone after getting initial treatment outside a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Monday
A frantic rescue mission is now underway at the mosque as emergency personnel search for survivors amongst the rubble.
‘Many policemen are buried under the rubble,’ said Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan, who estimated between 300 and 400 officers usually attended prayers at the mosque.
‘Efforts are being made to get them out safely,’ he said.
Bloodied survivors emerged limping from the wreckage, while bodies were ferried away in ambulances as the rescue operation continued.
Security officials said the bomber was sitting in the front row of the mosque.
It is not clear how the attacker was able to slip into the walled compound, which houses the northwestern city of Peshawar’s police headquarters and is itself located in a high-security zone with other government buildings.
Peshawar Police officer Muhammad Ijaz Khan told local media that between 300 and 400 police officials were present in the area at the time of the blast.
Local police officer Zafar Khan said several of the wounded were listed in critical condition at a hospital and there were fears the death toll would rise.
A survivor, 38-year-old police officer Meena Gul, said he was inside the mosque when the bomb went off.
He said he doesn’t know how he survived unhurt. He could hear cries and screams after the bomb exploded, Gul said.
Shahid Ali, a policeman who survived, said the explosion took place seconds after the imam started prayers.
‘I saw black smoke rising to the sky. I ran out to save my life,’ the 47-year-old said.
‘The screams of the people are still echoing in my mind,’ he added. ‘People were screaming for help.’
Rescue workers at the scene of a blast at a Mosque, in Peshawar, on Monday. The blast ripped through the walls and roof of the mosque (pictured)
A frantic rescue mission is now underway at the mosque as emergency personell search for survivors amongst the rubble (pictured)
A police officer, who was injured in a blast at a Mosque is helped by worshippers to make it to a hospital in Peshawar, on Monday
Police officers help injured victims of the suicide bomb attack to a hospital in Peshawar
Volunteers carry a coffin of a man, killed in the suicide bombing inside a mosque, at a hospital, in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Monday
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Security officials and rescue workers search bodies at the site of suicide bombing in Peshawar on Monday
The impact of the explosion collapsed the roof of the mosque, which caved in and injured many, according to Zafar Khan, a local police officer
The attacker appeared to have passed through several barricades manned by security forces to get into the ‘Red Zone’ compound that houses police and counter-terrorism offices in the volatile northwestern city of Peshawar, police said.
‘It was a suicide bombing,’ Peshawar Police Chief Ijaz Khan told Reuters. Many of the 170 wounded people were in critical condition, he said.
The death toll rose to 59 after several people succumbed to their wounds, hospital official Mohammad Asim said in a statement.
The bombing happened a day before an International Monetary Fund mission to Islamabad to initiate talks on unlocking funding for the South Asian country’s economy, which is enduring a balance of payments crisis.
Sarbakaf Mohmand, a commander for the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter.
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 who were behind the attack.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan also condemned the bombing, calling it a ‘terrorist suicide attack’ in a tweet online.
Khan wrote: ‘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.’
Peshawar is the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan and has been the scene of frequent militant attacks since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended their cease-fire with government forces.
This was one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent years.
Last April, a mosque in Imam Saheb was the target of another bombing, which killed dozens in Sunni Mawlawi Sekandar Mosque.
Injured people are being carried to ambulances at the site of the suicide bomb attack in Peshawar on Monday
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in a statement condemned the bombing and ordered authorities to ensure the best possible medical treatment for the victims
Some worshippers are being treated outside the mosque and some are in critical condition are being rushed to hospital
In the capital Islamabad Police issued a security high-alert and said security at all entry and exit points to the city had been increased
In the capital, Islamabad Police issued a security high-alert and said security at all entry and exit points to the city had been increased.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter.
The militant group, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, has waged an insurgency in Pakistan over the past 15 years.
It seeks the stricter enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of their members who are in government custody and a reduction in the Pakistani military presence in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that it has longed used as its base.
The group is separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops pulled out of the country after 20 years of war.
The suicide bombing had catastrophic affects on the mosque and its worshippers as
Brave onlookers and survivors risked their lives to help save their fellow worshippers
The building is falling apart after a suicide bomber attack the mosque
The government’s truce with the TTP ended as Pakistan was still contending with unprecedented flooding that killed 1,739 people, destroyed more than 2 million homes, and at one point submerged as much as one third of the country.
Mohmand, of the militant organization, said a fighter carried out the attack to avenge the killing of Abdul Wali, who was widely known as Omar Khalid Khurasani, and was killed in neighbouring Afghanistan’s Paktika province in August 2022.
Cash-strapped Pakistan is currently facing a severe economic crisis and is seeking a crucial instalment of $1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund – part of its $6 billion bailout package – to avoid default. Talks with the IMF on reviving the bailout have stalled in the past months.
Sharif’s government came to power last April after Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Khan has since campaigned for early elections, claiming his ouster was illegal and part of a plot backed by the United States. Washington and Sharif have dismissed Khan’s claims.
