Distressed families roamed the halls of hospitals in Peshawar on Tuesday, the day after a suicide bombing at a mosque in police headquarters left at least 100 people dead, almost all of them police officers, and 170 injured. This spectacular attack illustrates the deterioration of the security situation in this city in northwestern Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan. Washington has ” condemned with force » the attack.
A provincial official, Riaz Mahsud, said the death toll was likely to rise further as relief workers worked to clear debris from the second floor of the mosque which collapsed on the hundreds of worshipers gathered inside. ground floor for midday prayer. ” So far 100 bodies have been taken to Lady Reading Hospital a spokesman for Peshawar’s main hospital, Mohammed Asim, said in a statement.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told parliament that 97 of the 100 victims were police officers. He implicated a dissident group of the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, TTP), who for their part denied any responsibility.
Authorities do not know how the suicide bomber managed to enter the mosque with such powerful explosives, after passing through several checkpoints at the highly secure compound that houses the Peshawar police headquarters and an anti-terrorist unit.
Police say Peshawar bombing was in retaliation for their actions
The attack targeted a mosque within the police headquarters in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan, and according to the local police chief, the attack was carried out in retaliation for police operations targeting armed Islamist groups . ” We are on the front line “in this fight against armed Islamist movements” and that’s why we were targeted Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan told AFP.
About 300 to 400 police were gathered at a mosque inside the usually heavily guarded perimeter on Monday when the explosion occurred at the time of the noon prayer.
The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, of which Peshawar is the capital, announced that the latest death toll was 100 dead and 221 injured. According to Interior Minister Ranah Sanaullah, the attack killed 97 policemen and three civilians, and 27 injured were in critical condition by the evening.
The United States “strongly condemns” the attack, a White House National Security Council spokeswoman said Tuesday. She called the attack “tragic and heartbreaking”, adding: ” Terrorism is indefensible and it is unforgivable to target people attending a place of worship “.
(With AFP)
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