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Peshawar mosque bombing: At least 83 dead in Pakistan terror attack
“The screams and cries of people for help continue to resound… The Peshawar mosque was attacked and at least 83 people died.” An explosion occurred in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar (Peshawar) on January 30, and the site of the explosion was located in the security zone of the City of Peshawar At least 83 people were killed in a mosque in the city, the mosque was surrounded by several buildings the government and was heavily guarded Most of the Muslim believers who became policemen and officers. The Peshawar police drew attention to the fact that there were at least 27 policemen among the dead. After the explosion, commander Mohman (Sarbakaf Mohmand) of the “Pakistan Taliban Movement” (Tehreek-e-Taliban, TTP) claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack, but then the TTP organization issued a statement stating that it had nothing to do with the event. and did not mention Mohmand Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, has ordered a thorough investigation into the case, Mann said.
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, which borders Afghanistan; the mosque where the explosion occurred is located in a security zone, surrounded by government buildings, including the residence of the provincial prime minister, the provincial parliament building, the police headquarters, the anti-terrorism department, the high court, etc., so many officers and police in the area often go to worship.
The explosion happened around 1:30 pm local time on January 30. At that time, the Peshawar Mosque was holding an afternoon worship. At the time, the main hall which could hold about 300 people was almost full. Al Jazeera quoted survivors the explosion, local Police Shahid Ali said the suicide bomber was sitting in the second row of the worshiping crowd and detonated moments after the imam led the prayers.
Recalling the scene of the explosion, Ali said:
“I saw black smoke rising into the sky and I ran out of the mosque for my life… I still hear the screams of the people in my head, everyone calling for help.”
The terrorist attack killed at least 83 people and injured at least dozens of others. Among the dead, at least 27 were police officers. Local police said the explosion caused the roof and wall of the mosque to collapse, and many worshipers grinding and waiting in the fallen ruins Rescue, emergency staff continued to search and rescue in the rubble; by nightfall locally, around 20 people were still trapped, and many injured were in a serious condition in hospital.
Zafar Khan, a local police officer in Peshawar, said that when the explosion happened, about 300 to 400 police officers were stationed in the area around the mosque, but the bomber was able to enter the mosque through layers of security, which clearly caused a security breach; Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, arriving in Peshawar for an inspection, issued a statement stating that the terrorists intended to “create fear by attacking those who defend Pakistan”, and described the bombing as “nothing less than an attack on Pakistan itself”. . Sharif said the attack was a suicide attack, ordered a thorough investigation, and asked the hospital to provide the best medical care to the survivors. At the same time, he stressed that Pakistan opposes the threat of terrorism and believes that the motive of the attack “nothing to do with Islam.”
“BBC” reported that many bombing victims sent to hospital were still wearing police uniforms; in addition to burns caused by the explosion, many people were hit by the falling rubble and suffered cuts.
Shortly after the bombing, the commander Sarbakaf Mohmand of the militant organization Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) claimed responsibility for the case on Twitter and said that the motive for the attack was the 2022 bombing. However, a spokesman noted part of the TTP, Mohammad Khurasani, in a statement that it is not TPP’s policy to target religious places such as mosques and seminaries, and he denied that TTP was involved in the bombing. Kurasani did not mention or explain Moman’s claims in the statement.
TTP was founded in 2007 and is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States. It is independent and has no connection with the Taliban in Afghanistan, but both have similar ideologies. In the last 15 years, TTP has launched many rebellions in Pakistan, striving to implement stricter Islamic laws. , and demanded the release of captured TTP fighters. The “Guardian” reported that after the Taliban take control of Afghanistan in 2021, the influence of the TTP will increase, especially in the Khyber-Pashtun province which borders Afghanistan. The Pakistani government has accused the Taliban government of failing to protect the border mountains and allow Terrorists to shuttle back and forth.
After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, TTP increased its attacks in Pakistan – in 2022 alone, Pakistani monitoring agencies recorded 150 attacks by TTP – in June 2022, under the mediation of the Afghan Taliban government, TTP and the Pakistani government agreed on and ceasefire, but in November of the same year, TTP unilaterally terminated the ceasefire agreement.
Peshawar, which was attacked this time, has frequent terrorist attacks. In addition to TTP, the Islamic State of Khorasan (ISIS-K) also claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack and bombing that took place in a local Shiite minority mosque in March 2022. The bombing killed 64 people in the deadliest attack in Pakistan since 2018.
The timing of the Peshawar mosque bombing is extremely sensitive. It coincides with the start of a series of important diplomatic trips in Pakistan: on January 30, the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will visit Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, canceled at the last minute due to bad weather; on January 31, a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will also visit Pakistan to assess unlocking and provide a lifeline loan to the country to prevent Pakistan from Default on a loan.
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