The death toll from the attack on a Pakistani mosque located on Peshawar police territory has risen to 88, local officials said on Tuesday, calling the attack one of the deadliest in recent years.
The suicide attack took place on Monday as more than 300 worshipers were praying at this mosque in the city of Peshawar.
The “suicide bomber” blew up his vest, hitting the mosque, whose roof collapsed, as well as many people approaching the objects of prayer, authorities explained.
As a result, the roof collapsed and several dozen people were injured, a local policeman said, adding that rescuers had to remove several piles of rubble to reach worshipers trapped under the rubble.
A spokesman for a public hospital in Peshawar said several bodies were recovered on Tuesday morning, saying most of the victims were police officers.
More than 150 people were also injured in the attack, but the number could rise as rescue teams continue to work to remove people trapped in the rubble.
Sarbakaf Mohmand, commander of the Pakistani Taliban, initially announced the attack in a message posted on the social network Twitter.
Hours later, however, Mohammad Khurasani, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, denied responsibility for the group, saying the movement’s policy was not to attack mosques, seminaries and religious sites.
How the terrorist managed to get to the site remains to be seen, since the mosque is located in a walled building in a maximum security zone, where other government buildings are also located.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited a hospital in Peshawar after the attack and vowed “harsh measures” against those responsible for the attack.
“The scale of human tragedy is unimaginable. This is nothing less than an attack on Pakistan,” he tweeted.
Author: morning Post
Source: CM Jornal

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