A suicide bomber struck Monday inside a mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least 28 people and wounding as many as 147 worshippers, officials said.
Most of the casualties were police officers — the targeted mosque is located within a sprawling compound, which also serves as the city's police headquarters. Police said between 300 and 350 worshipers were inside the mosque when the bomber detonated the explosives.
The impact of the explosion collapsed the roof of the mosque, which caved in and injured many, according to Zafar Khan, a local police officer.
A survivor, 38-year-old police officer Meena Gul, said he was inside the mosque when the bomb went off. He said he doesn't know how he survived unhurt. He could hear cries and screams after the bomb exploded, Gul said.
Rescuers scrambled trying to remove mounds of debris from the mosque grounds and get to worshippers still trapped under the rubble, police said. Khan said several of the wounded were listed in critical condition at a hospital and there were fears the death toll would rise.
PM promises 'stern action'
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in a statement condemned the bombing, and ordered authorities to ensure the best possible medical treatment to the victims. He also vowed "stern action" against those who were behind the attack.
Imran Khan, the former prime minister ousted in a non-confidence vote last year, also condemned the bombing, calling it a "terrorist suicide attack" in a Twitter posting.
"My prayers & condolences go to victims families," said the former prime minister. "It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering & properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism."
Peshawar is the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan and has been the scene of frequent militant attacks.
The Pakistani Taliban are known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, and are a separate group but also a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.
The TTP has waged an insurgency in Pakistan over the past 15 years, fighting for stricter enforcement of Islamic laws in the country, the release of its members who are in government custody and a reduction of the Pakistani military presence in the country's former tribal regions.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks since November when the Pakistani Taliban ended their ceasefire with government forces.
The truce ended as Pakistan was still contending with last summer's unprecedented flooding that killed 1,739 people, destroyed more than two million homes, and at one point submerged as much as one third of the country. The flood damage totalled to more than $30 billion and authorities are now, months later, still struggling to arrange tents, shelter and food for the survivors.
Cash-strapped Pakistan is currently also facing one of the worst economic crises and is seeking a crucial installment of $1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund.
