Key PointsAt least 61 folks have died in a mosque and greater than 150 injured in a police headquarters in Peshawar, Pakistan. A surviving police officer stated the screams of his fellow colleagues are “echoing” in his thoughts. No one has claimed duty for the assault as the remainder of the nation is positioned on excessive alert.
A second for prayer and solace in a spot of worship for tons of of Muslims.
Seconds later, an explosion. Billowing black smoke, rubble, and buried our bodies.
These have been the harrowing moments recounted by a police officer after a bomb exploded throughout afternoon prayer in a Pakistan police compound on Monday, killing greater than 60 folks and injuring tons of.
Most of those that died have been cops within the provincial metropolis of Peshawar, near former tribal areas alongside the Afghan border the place militancy has been steadily rising.
Individuals carry the physique of their relative, who was a sufferer within the assault inside a mosque. Supply: AAP / Muhammad Sajjad/AP
Shahid Ali was one of many officers within the mosque who survived the assault. He stated it happened simply seconds after the imam signalled the beginning of the prayer.
“I noticed black smoke rising to the sky. I ran out to save lots of my life,” the 47-year-old stated.
“The screams of the persons are nonetheless echoing in my thoughts.”
As darkness fell, a number of males have been nonetheless trapped within the wreckage, seen by cracks within the concrete.
‘Many policemen are buried beneath the rubble’
A frantic rescue mission was persevering with in a single day on the mosque, which had a complete wall and a few of its roof blown out by the potential suicide assault.
Extra our bodies are being pulled from the particles, with the toll rising to 61 killed with greater than 150 wounded to date.
“Many policemen are buried beneath the rubble,” stated Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan, who estimated between 300 and 400 officers normally attended prayers.
“Efforts are being made to get them out safely.”
Bloodied survivors emerged limping from the wreckage, whereas our bodies have been ferried away in ambulances.
Officers stated the blast got here from the second row of worshippers, with investigators trying into the opportunity of a suicide assault.
“It is an emergency state of affairs,” Muhammad Asim Khan, a spokesman for the principle hospital in Peshawar stated.
At the least 20 of the killed cops have been later buried after a prayer ceremony with coffins lined up in rows and draped within the Pakistani flag.
Safety officers collect for funeral prayers of cops, who have been killed within the bombing inside a mosque. Supply: AAP / AP
“Terrorists wish to create concern by focusing on those that carry out the responsibility of defending Pakistan,” stated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a press release.
The officers have been laid to relaxation with a guard of honour, a police official instructed AFP.
No group has but claimed duty for the assault, which got here amid a worsening safety state of affairs within the nation.
Pakistan on excessive alert
The police headquarters in Peshawar is in one of the crucial tightly-controlled areas of the town, housing intelligence and counter-terrorism bureaus, and is subsequent door to the regional secretariat.
Provinces across the nation introduced they have been on excessive alert after the blast, with checkpoints ramped up and additional safety forces deployed, whereas within the capital Islamabad snipers have been deployed on buildings and at metropolis entrance factors.
Safety officers examine the positioning of a mosque blast contained in the police headquarters in Peshawar. Supply: Getty / Maaz Ali
The drastic safety breach got here on the day United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan had been attributable to go to Islamabad, though the journey was cancelled on the final minute attributable to unhealthy climate.
UN Secretary-Basic Antonio Guterres on Monday condemned the blast as “abhorrent” and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken prolonged his condolences for the “horrific assault”.
Historical past of violence
The safety state of affairs in Pakistan – as soon as suffering from bombings till a significant navy crackdown that started in 2014 largely restored order – has deteriorated because the return of the Afghan Taliban in Kabul.
The Pakistan authorities has accused the brand new rulers of failing to safe their mountainous border, permitting militants to journey forwards and backwards with out being detected.
The most important menace comes from a resurgent Pakistani Taliban, a separate motion from the Afghan Taliban however with an analogous ideology, which has sharply elevated low-casualty assaults on police and safety forces.
The group has denied duty for the bombing.
In the meantime, the regional chapter of the self-proclaimed Islamic State group – whose numbers have been bolstered by jail breaks in Afghanistan in 2021 – claimed an assault final yr on a minority Shiite mosque in Peshawar that killed 64, Pakistan’s deadliest terror assault since 2018.
Detectives stated the bomber was an Afghan exile who had returned dwelling to coach for the assault.
