Suicide bomber kills 34 and injures 150 at mosque in northwest Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan. A suicide bomber detonated explosives during a crowded prayer at a mosque inside a police station in Pakistan on Monday, causing the roof to collapse. At least 34 people were killed and 150 injured, officials said.

Most of the victims are police officers. It is not clear how the terrorist managed to slip into the walled complex that houses the police headquarters of the northwestern city of Peshawar and is itself in a high-security zone with other government buildings.

Sarbakaf Mohmand, a Pakistani Taliban commander, claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter. The main spokesman for the militants has not yet been available for comment.

Pakistan, which is predominantly Sunni Muslim, has experienced a surge in militant attacks since November as the Pakistani Taliban ended a truce with government forces. Monday’s attack on a Sunni mosque was one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent years.

More than 300 worshipers were praying inside the mosque, and more were approaching when a terrorist detonated a vest with explosives. According to Zafar Khan, a local police officer, many were injured when the roof collapsed.

Police said rescuers were trying to remove piles of rubbish from the mosque grounds in order to reach worshipers still trapped in the rubble.

Mina Gul, who was inside the mosque when the bomb exploded, said she did not know how he managed to escape unscathed. The 38-year-old police officer said he heard screams and screams after the explosion.

Siddiq Khan, a police official, said the death toll had risen to 34, with Nur-ul-Amin, a prayer leader, among the dead. According to him, the attacker blew himself up while among the believers.

Peshawar police chief Ijaz Khan said at least 150 people were injured. A nearby hospital indicated that many of the injured were in critical condition, raising fears that the death toll could still rise.

Peshawar is the capital of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where there is a strong presence of the Pakistani Taliban, and the city has been the scene of frequent attacks by militants.

The militant group, also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, has been leading an insurgency in Pakistan for the past 15 years. He is pushing for greater enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of their members in government custody, and a reduction in the Pakistani military presence in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that it has long used as its base.

The group is separate from, but a close ally of, the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 when US and NATO troops withdrew from the country after 20 years of war.

The government’s truce with the TPP ended as Pakistan was still battling unprecedented flooding that killed 1,739 people, destroyed over 2 million homes, and at one point flooded a third of the country.

Mohmand of the militants said the militant carried out the attack to avenge the killing of Abdul Wali, commonly known as Omar Khalid Khurasani, who was killed in the neighboring Afghan province of Paktika in August 2022.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the explosion and ordered the authorities to provide the best possible treatment to the victims. He also promised “strong measures” against those behind the attack.

Sharif went to Peshawar and visited the wounded in the hospital. His office said he would receive a briefing on the security situation in the northwest.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan called the explosion a “suicide attack” in a Twitter post. “My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims,” the ex-premier said. “It is imperative that we improve our intelligence gathering and properly equip our police forces to deal with the growing threat of terrorism.”

Cash-strapped Pakistan is now facing a major economic crisis and is demanding a critical $1.1 billion contribution from the International Monetary Fund – part of its $6 billion bailout package – to avoid a default. Negotiations with the IMF to resume bailouts have stalled in recent months.

Sharif’s government came to power last April after Imran Khan was ousted in a vote of no confidence in parliament. Khan has since campaigned for an early election, arguing that his overthrow was illegal and part of a conspiracy backed by the United States. Washington and Sharif rejected Khan’s claims.

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed of Islamabad contributed to this report.