IRIA News

A suicide bomber struck a crowded mosque in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar on January 30, 2023. At least 100 people have been reported dead and 200 others were reported injured as the roof of the mosque collapsed in the powerful explosion.

The country’s worst attack in months took place at a mosque located inside a highly secure compound that includes the headquarters of the provincial police force and the headquarters of the counterterrorism department. The attack occurred in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Most of the casualties were police officers. The mosque is within Peshawar’s Police Lines, a part of the city’s compound which houses a number of important government buildings.

Media reports suggested that the bomber was standing in the first row of worshippers. Authorities said that the suicide attack severely damaged the building. The powerful blast collapsed the ceiling on the worshippers leading to a high number of casualties as several people were trapped under the rubble.

Shortly after the explosion Omar Mukaram Khurasani, the current head of the Jamat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), a splinter group of the banned militant organization Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. Later, TTP distanced itself from the bombing. In recent months, TTP has stepped up attacks in Pakistan since withdrawing from a peace deal with the government last year.

Peshawar’s Police Chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan said in a statement that the main hall of the mosque had a capacity for more than 300 people and it was “nearly full” at the time of the explosion. Meena Gul, a 38-year-old police officer, who was inside the mosque when the bomb went off, said he doesn’t know how he survived unhurt. He said heard cries and screams soon after the blast.

Superintendent of Peshawar Police Shazad Kaukab told reported the blast occurred when he had just entered the mosque to offer prayers. He said he luckily survived the attack. The bomber entered the highly secured mosque inside police lines where four layers of security were in place to enter the mosque.

Senior police and government officials attended the funerals of 30 police officers whose coffins were wrapped in the Pakistani flag and arrangements were being made to bury the rest.

Officials said the attack “was a security lapse”. Ghulam Ali, the provincial governor in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said an investigation was under way to determine “how the terrorist entered the mosque”.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the bombing in a statement and ordered authorities to ensure the best possible medical treatment for the victims. “The sheer scale of the human tragedy is unimaginable. This is no less than an attack on Pakistan,” he tweeted. The prime minister visited the wounded in Peshawar and promised “stern action” against those behind the bombing.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan also took to Twitter to condemn the attack and offered prayers and condolences. Khan said that “It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering and properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism.”

In March 2022, a similar suicide attack on a mosque in Peshawar killed 64 people in Pakistan’s deadliest terror attack since 2018. The Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K) claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Pakistan has seen a surge in violence during the last year, with numerous attacks on law enforcement officials, particularly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province as well as the southern province of Balochistan especially after the TTP unilaterally ended a ceasefire with the Pakistani state. In 2022 alone, Pakistan’s monitoring agencies recorded more than 150 attacks launched by the TTP across the country killing dozens of Pakistani citizens and law enforcement officials.

Condemnations

The horrific attack prompted condemnations from around the world. Pakistan’s close ally Turkey immediately condemned the attack and extended condolences. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of lives and injuries as a result of Monday’s terrorist act targeting a mosque in northwestern Peshawar city,” the Turkish foreign ministry said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the bombing “particularly abhorrent” for targeting a place of worship.

Saudi Arabia expressed strong condemnation of the terrorist attack, offered condolences to the families of the victims, and wished the injured a speedy recovery. The official Saudi statement denounced targeting places of worship and terrorizing and shedding the blood of innocent people.

United States Secretary of States Antony Blinken extended his condolences while describing it as a “horrific attack”.