A suicide bomber detonated explosives during mass prayers at a mosque inside a police compound in Pakistan on Monday, causing the roof to collapse. At least 34 people were killed and 150 injured, authorities said.
Most of the victims were police officers. It was unclear how the attacker was able to sneak into the walled compound, which houses the police headquarters for the northwestern city of Peshawar and is located in a high-security zone with other government buildings.
Sarbakaf Mohmand, a commander in the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter. The militant group’s top spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Pakistan, which is majority Sunni Muslim, has seen a rise in militant attacks since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended its ceasefire with government forces. Monday’s assault on a Sunni mosque was one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent years.
More than 300 worshipers were praying inside the mosque, and were getting closer, when the attacker detonated his explosive vest. Many were injured when the roof collapsed, according to Zafar Khan, a local police officer.
Rescuers rushed to clear piles of rubble from the mosque grounds to reach worshipers still trapped under the rubble, police said.
Meena Gul, who was inside the mosque when the bomb went off, said she doesn’t know how he survived unharmed. The 38-year-old police officer said she could hear screaming and screaming after the explosion.
Siddique Khan, a police officer, said the death toll rose to 34, and among those killed was Noor-ul-Amin, the prayer leader. He said the attacker blew himself up while he was among the worshipers.
Peshawar Police Chief Ijaz Khan said at least 150 were injured. A nearby hospital listed many of the injured in critical condition, raising concerns that the death toll could still rise.
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the Pakistani Taliban have a strong presence, and the city has been the scene of frequent militant attacks.
The militant group, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, has been waging an insurgency in Pakistan for the past 15 years. It seeks the strictest enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of its members from government custody and a reduction in the Pakistani military presence in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that it has long used as its base.
The group is separate but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 when US and NATO troops withdrew from the country after 20 years of war.
The government’s truce with the TTP ended as Pakistan was still facing unprecedented flooding that killed 1,739 people, destroyed more than 2 million homes and at one point submerged up to a third of the country.
Mohmand, from the militant organization, said a fighter carried out the attack to avenge the killing of Abdul Wali, known as Omar Khalid Khurasani, who was killed in the neighboring Afghan province of Paktika in August 2022.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attack and ordered the authorities to ensure the best possible medical treatment for the victims. He also promised “severe action” against those behind the attack.
Sharif traveled to Peshawar and visited the wounded at the hospital. His office said he would receive briefings on the security situation in the northwest.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan called the attack a “terrorist suicide attack” in a Twitter post. “My prayers and condolences go out to the families of the victims,” the former prime minister said. “It is imperative that we improve our intelligence collection and properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism.”
Cash-strapped Pakistan is currently facing a severe economic crisis and is seeking a crucial $1.1 billion quota from the International Monetary Fund, part of its $6 billion bailout package, to avoid default. Talks with the IMF about reviving the bailout have stalled in recent months.
Sharif’s government came to power last April after Imran Khan was ousted in a vote of no confidence in Parliament. Since then, Khan has campaigned for early elections, claiming his ouster was illegal and part of a US-backed plot. Washington and Sharif have dismissed Khan’s claims.
