46 Killed, 100 Injured In Taliban Suicide Attack At Mosque In Pakistan
On Monday, a Taliban suicide bomber attacked a mosque during afternoon prayers in Peshawar, Pakistan. The mosque, located in the high-security Police Lines area, was packed with worshippers including personnel from the police, army, and bomb disposal squad. The bomber detonated himself in the front row, killing at least 46 people and injuring over 100, mostly policemen. Lady Reading Hospital has reported 13 of the injured are in critical condition.
The attacker entered the mosque through the highly-secured entrance, which had four layers of security. The TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the attack and stated it was in revenge for the death of a TTP commander who was killed last August in Afghanistan.
The suicide attack was condemned by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Sharif vowed that the nation will stand united against terrorism and a comprehensive strategy will be adopted to counter the law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The emergency has been declared in the hospitals of Peshawar and the hospital has appealed for blood donations.
Security has been increased in other major cities, including Islamabad, after the attack. Caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan and former Prime Minister Imran Khan also condemned the attack and offered condolences to the families of the victims.
The TTP, which has links to al-Qaeda, has a history of carrying out deadly attacks across Pakistan, including the 2014 attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, which killed 131 students. A similar attack on a Shia mosque in the city last year killed 63 people. The TTP called off a ceasefire with the federal government and ordered its militants to carry out terrorist attacks across the country.