An ambulance transports injured from the explosion at the Peshawar Police headquarters /
A terrorist detonated the explosives he was carrying during prayer time, which was attended by no less than 300 people
At least 28 people have died and 150 are injured after the explosion that occurred inside a mosque located inside the Peshawar Police headquarters, in northwestern Pakistan. A man has detonated the explosives that he was carrying this Monday during prayer time, which was attended by about three hundred faithful. The rescue teams work among the rubble and do not rule out that the number of victims will increase rapidly, since there are dozens of missing people. Among them are several policemen.
The Government has declared the country in a “state of war” against terrorism. The Army and the Police have been deployed in Peshawar, precisely the city that registered another brutal attack on a religious center less than a year ago. In an attack identical to this morning’s, a suicide bomber blew himself up last March at a Shiite mosque causing enormous devastation, killing 64 and injuring nearly 200. The massacre was claimed by the Islamic State.
In the attack on Monday, the terrorist had been placed in the front row during the prayer. The explosion brought down much of the mosque. According to the authorities, the high mortality is due to the direct effect of the deflagration, but also to the fact that the roof and the walls fell on dozens of faithful. Some of them have been able to get out on their own from the rubble. It is feared that there are numerous victims still trapped, says the Pakistani newspaper ‘Daily Jang’.
Rescue services are working to search for victims among the remains of the mosque. /
The provincial Department of Health has declared a “medical emergency” and has asked all health workers to remain on alert to attend to the large number of injuries. For his part, the inspector general of the Islamabad Police, Akbar Nasir Jan, has announced that the capital is in a situation of “maximum security alert” after the attack, as he has specified on his official Twitter account.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Jan has strongly condemned the attack and has conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims. No one has yet claimed responsibility, but the government suspects Islamic State. In recent months the country has witnessed an intensification of attacks by insurgent groups. “It is imperative to improve our ability to gather intelligence and properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism,” Imran Jan said.
In recent weeks, the security forces have increased their operations against Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, after the armed group announced at the end of November the end of the ceasefire agreed with the authorities. from the country.
