Suicide bombing at mosque in Pakistan kills 32, targeted police
World
3 years ago
<p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust:auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;max-width:100%;orphans:auto;text-align:start;text-decoration:none;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:auto;word-spacing:0px;" data-testid="paragraph-0" data-reader-unique-id="12">A suicide bombing at a crowded mosque in Pakistan's Peshawar killed at least 32 people on Monday, the latest attack targeting police in this northwestern city where Islamist militants remain active.</p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust:auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;max-width:100%;orphans:auto;text-align:start;text-decoration:none;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:auto;word-spacing:0px;" data-testid="paragraph-1" data-reader-unique-id="13">Hospital officials said at least 147 people were wounded, with many of them in critical condition.</p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust:auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;max-width:100%;orphans:auto;text-align:start;text-decoration:none;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:auto;word-spacing:0px;" data-testid="paragraph-2" data-reader-unique-id="14">Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif called the blast a suicide attack. There were at least 260 people in the mosque, police official Sikandar Khan added.</p><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust:auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;max-width:100%;orphans:auto;text-align:start;text-decoration:none;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:auto;word-spacing:0px;" data-reader-unique-id="15"><div style="max-width:100%;" data-reader-unique-id="16"><p style="max-width:100%;" data-testid="paragraph-3" data-reader-unique-id="28">No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, which ripped through the mosque during noon prayers, causing a wall to collapse on top of worshippers. The building is located inside a highly fortified compound that includes the headquarters of the provincial police force and a counter-terrorism department.</p><p style="max-width:100%;" data-testid="paragraph-4" data-reader-unique-id="29">"We're getting that the terrorist was standing in the first row," Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told Geo TV.</p><p style="max-width:100%;" data-testid="paragraph-5" data-reader-unique-id="42">Footage from government broadcaster PTV showed police and residents scrambling to remove debris from the blast site and carrying wounded people on their shoulders.</p><p style="max-width:100%;" data-testid="paragraph-6" data-reader-unique-id="43">The attack was the city's worst since March last year, when a suicide bombing at a Shi'ite Muslim mosque during Friday prayers killed at least 58 people and injured nearly 200. <a style="color:rgb(90, 200, 250);max-width:100%;text-decoration:none;" href="safari-reader://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/mosque-blast-northwestern-pakistani-kills-five-wounds-dozens-police-2022-03-04/" data-testid="Link" data-reader-unique-id="44">Islamic State</a> militants claimed responsibility for that bombing.</p><div style="max-width:100%;" testid="ResponsiveAdSlot" data-reader-unique-id="45"><div style="max-width:100%;" data-reader-unique-id="46"> </div></div><p style="max-width:100%;" data-testid="paragraph-7" data-reader-unique-id="51">Peshwar, which sits at the edge of Pakistan's tribal districts bordering Afghanistan, is frequently targeted by militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban.</p><p style="max-width:100%;" data-testid="paragraph-8" data-reader-unique-id="52">The group, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is an umbrella of Sunni and sectarian Islamist groups that want to overthrow the government and replace it with their own brand of Islamic governance.</p><p style="max-width:100%;" data-testid="paragraph-9" data-reader-unique-id="53">The TTP has stepped up attacks since it ended a so-called peace deal last year with the Pakistani government, which was facilitated by Afghan Taliban.</p><p style="max-width:100%;" data-testid="paragraph-10" data-reader-unique-id="54">TTP has staged frequent attacks targeting police in the last few months. In December, Islamist militants seized a counter-terrorism centre in the northwestern and took hostages to negotiate with government authorities.</p></div></div>
source: Reuters
