Explosion in a mosque in Pakistan kills at least 25 and injures 120
Eva Deschamps / Janvier 31, 2023
At least 25 people were killed and 120 injured in an explosion Monday in a mosque inside the police headquarters in Peshawar, northwestern Pakistan, AFP learned from administrative sources.
So far 25 people have been killed and 120 injured (...) More bodies have been pulled out (of the mosque). Currently, our number one priority is to rescue people trapped under the rubble," Shaffiullah Khan, a senior administrative official in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, of which Peshawar is the capital, told AFP.
We are seeking more information, but the explosion took place at prayer time," Muhammad Ijaz Khan, Peshawar's police chief, confirmed to AFP.
Part of the roof and a wall of the mosque collapsed under the blast and an operation was underway to rescue people trapped under the debris, an AFP reporter noted, who also saw two bodies being placed in an ambulance.
In March 2022, a suicide bombing claimed by EI-K, the local branch of the Islamic State (EI) group, in a Shia mosque in Peshawar killed 64 people. According to the police, the suicide bomber was an Afghan national who had been living in Pakistan with his family for several years and who had prepared the attack in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has been facing a deteriorating security situation in recent months, particularly since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
After several years of relative calm, attacks have resumed in earnest, carried out by the Pakistani Taliban of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the regional branch of the Islamic State group (EI-K), or Baluch separatist groups.
Pakistan blames the Taliban for allowing these groups to use Afghan soil to plan their attacks, which Kabul has consistently denied.