46 killed, over 100 injured in Taliban suicide attack at mosque in Pakistan's Peshawar

A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up in a mosque packed with worshippers during afternoon prayers on Monday in the highsecurity zone in Pakistans northwestern Peshawar city killing at least 46 people and wounding more than 100 others mostly policemen security and health officials saidThe blast occurred inside the mosque in the Police Lines area around 140 pm when worshippers which included personnel of the police army and bomb disposal squad were offering the Zuhr afternoon prayers The bomber who was present in the front row blew himself up officials saidAlso read10 children killed in Pakistan as boat capsizesLady Reading Hospital officials said 46 people have died so far However the Peshawar Police has released a list of 38 victimsThere were mostly policemen among the injuredA brother of the slain commander of the TehreekeTaliban Pakistan TTP Umar Khalid Khurasani claimed that the suicide attack was part of the revenge attack for his brother who was killed last August in AfghanistanThe outlawed TTP known as the Pakistani Taliban has carried out a number of suicide attacks in the past targeting security personnelSuperintendent of Police Investigation Peshawar Shazad Kaukab whose office is close to the mosque told the media that the blast occurred when he just entered the mosque to offer prayers He said he luckily survived the attackA police official said that a portion of the mosque collapsed and several people were believed to be under itThe bomber entered the highly secured mosque inside police lines where four layers of security were in place to enter the mosqueQuoting Capital City Police Officer CCPO Peshawar Muhammad Ijaz Khan Dawn newspaper said that a number of jawans are still stuck under the rubble and rescuers are trying to pull them outKhan said between 300 to 400 police officials were present in the area at the time of the blast It is apparent that a security lapse occurred he told the mediaPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack saying the attackers behind the incident have nothing to do with IslamiquestiquestTerrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistaniquest he said and vowed that the sacrifices of the blast victims will not go in vain iquestThe entire nation is standing united against the menace of terrorismHe also said that a comprehensive strategy will be adopted to counter the deteriorating law and order situation in restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the federal government will help provinces in increasing their antiterrorism capacityForeign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also condemned the attack saying terrorist incidents before the local and general elections were meaningfulKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali condemned the blast and urged the people to donate blood for the injured saying that it would be a huge favour for the policeiquestThe injured are being shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital officials saidHospital sources said 13 of those injured were in a critical conditionAn emergency has been declared in the hospitals of Peshawar The hospital has appealed citizens to donate blood for the victimsSecurity has been beefed up in other major cities including Islamabad after the Peshawar blast In Islamabad security at all entry and exit points of the capital city has been increased and snipers have been deployed at important points and buildingsCaretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan condemned the attack and offered condolences to the bereaved familiesFormer prime minister Imran Khan strongly condemned the terrorist attack in the mosqueMy prayers and condolences go to victims families It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering amp properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism the Pakistan TehreekeInsaf tweetedLast year a similar attack inside a Shia mosque in the Kocha Risaldar area in the city killed 63 peopleThe TTP set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007 called off a ceasefire with the federal government and ordered its militants to stage terrorist attacks across the countryThe group which is believed to be close to alQaeda has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan including an attack on army headquarters in 2009 assaults on military bases and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in IslamabadIn 2014 the Pakistani Taliban stormed the Army Public School APS in the northwestern city of Peshawar killing at least 150 people including 131 students The attack sent shockwaves across the world and was widely condemnedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever