Pakistan mosque suicide bombing death toll rises to 93

The death toll from a powerful suicide bombing at a crowded Peshawar mosque in northwestern Pakistan rose to 93 on Tuesday after rescue teams retrieved more bodies from the debris police said The outlawed TehreekeTaliban Pakistan TTP has taken responsibility for the attack which took place inside the mosque in the highsecurity Police Lines area on MondayAccording to security officials the suicide attacker was present in the front row during the Zuhr afternoon prayers when he exploded himself Sahibzada Noor Ul Amin the Imam of the mosque was also killed in the blast police said They said a total of 93 have died while 221 others have been injured in the attackThe death toll of Peshawar blast has risen to 93 as rescue operation is still underway and debris of mosque is being removed the staterun Radio Pakistan reportedAccording to Police Control Room Peshawar more than twohundred injured were brought to the Lady Reading hospital out of which about onehundred injured are under treatment in the hospital and the rest have been discharged it saidEarlier Spokesperson of the Lady Reading Hospital Muhammad Asim said that 157 injured people were brought to the medical facility after the blastBodies of 44 people were also transferred to the hospital At the moment around 65 injured are getting treatment at the Lady Reading Hospital Some of the injured are critical while condition of most is satisfactory Asim said adding that most people among the injured and dead included police officersCapital City Police Officer Peshawar CCPO Ejaz Khan while talking to the media said that it was too early to say anything as many policemen are still trapped under the rubble Close to 300400 policemen usually offer prayer at the Zuhr time If a blast has taken place inside police lines then it is a security lapse but an investigation into the matter can reveal further said the CCPOKhan said that there is a possibility that the attacker may have entered the mosque compound in an official vehicle The CTD is investigating the case he saidAlso read Pakistan security forces kill TTP commander 10 militants in operationA preliminary investigation report of the blast has been sent to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Geo News reported citing sources Sources said that evidence found at the site of the incident indicates that it was a suicide attack As per the report the roof tumbled down as the pillars collapsed causing a lot of damage A highlevel investigation committee has been set up to look into the security lapses the report saidPakistan President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have condemned the attackI strongly condemn the heinous amp cowardly blast that has taken place in Peshawar mosque The perpetrators will be found and punished Condolences to families who have lost an innocent member amp prayers for injured Terrorism must be buried forever Alvi tweetedShehbaz said the blast inside the mosque proves that those involved in the attack have nothing to do with Islam These terrorists are trying to instil fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan he said assuring the people that the coalition government will take strict action against those involved in the attackPTI Chairman and expremier Imran Khan also took to Twitter to condemn the suicide attack Strongly condemn the terrorist suicide attack in police lines mosque Peshawar during prayers My prayers amp 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 he wroteLast 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 country The 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