According to national media, the attack occurred when 150 people were performing afternoon prayers.
Photo: EFE
An attack reported this Monday at a mosque in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan, left at least 44 dead and another 157 injured.
Furthermore, it is reported that a part of the mosque also collapsed due to the intensity of the explosion.
According to reports,
a suicide bomber blew himself up as some 150 worshipers gathered for afternoon prayers at the temple
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.
However, the head of the Peshawar police, Muhammad Ijaz Khan, later told a national channel that the mosque, which has a capacity of 300 people, was almost full at the time of the explosion.
पाकिस्तान: पेशावर में के बाद मस्जिद के अंदर जोरदार ब्लास्ट।
For more updates⬇https://t.co/alK81EUfrj
#Peshawar #peshawarunderattack #jagtobharat pic.twitter.com/blaLnO873y
— Jagto Bharat (@JagtoB) January 30, 2023
No armed group has assumed responsibility for the attack that occurred at the mosque located within the city's red zone
, which houses several important government buildings such as the home of the chief minister and the governor.
For his part, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack in a statement, calling on the authorities to guarantee the best possible medical treatment for the victims and stressing that "severe action" will be carried out against the perpetrators.
In turn, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, posted on Twitter that "it is imperative that we improve our intelligence gathering and adequately equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism."
“I strongly condemn the suicide bombing on the Peshawar Mosque police lines during prayers.
My prayers and condolences go out to the families of the victims,” Khan wrote on his Twitter account.
For his part, after the attack, the inspector general of Islamabad, Akbar Nasir Khan, has issued orders for a "maximum security alert" in the Pakistani capital, according to a tweet from the local police.
In addition, he reported that snipers have been placed at "important points and buildings" and have thermal imaging equipment.
Last March, a suicide bomber from the Islamic State in Khorasan ISKP (ISIS-K) province carried out an attack on a mosque in Peshawar, which left 64 people dead in the deadliest terrorist attack since 2018.
(With information from RT in Spanish and TeleSur)
See also:
The death toll from the suicide attack against a mosque in Pakistan rises to 62
On video, attack on the mosque