Pakistan blast death toll at least 100, involves 10-12kg explosives
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The Pakistani police continue to search for survivors as details unfold regarding the logistics of the attack.
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People and rescue workers gather amid the damages after a suicide blast in a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, January 30, 2023. (Reuters)
The attack that targeted a mosque located inside the police headquarters in Peshawar, Pakistan, which has claimed the lives of at least 100 people until now and wounded around 200, has been dubbed, on Tuesday, as a targeted revenge attack according to the Pakistani police chief.
City police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan told AFP that "the purpose was to demoralize us as a force," adding that "we are on the frontline taking action against militants and that is why we were targeted."
Information revealed
The suicide blast was conducted by an individual who entered the police headquarters building and then walked into the mosque pretending to be a guest and carried 10–12 kilograms of "explosive material in bits and pieces," according to the head of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province police force, Moazzam Jah Ansari.
Moazzam further added that the police, following the denial of responsibility of Pakistani Taliban, suspected that either the Islamic State, a faction affiliated to TTP, or coordination by several groups was behind the attack.
At this point, the Pakistani authorities are in the process of investigating how a major breach could happen in one of the most controlled locations in the city; a place that faced the regional Secretariat and housed intelligence and counter-terrorism bureaus.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement, "Terrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan."
It is worth noting that Khan, earlier on Monday, reckoned that typically around 300 to 400 officers attend prayers at the targeted mosque. He said, "Many policemen are buried under the rubble," adding, "Efforts are being made to get them out safely."
Survivors under the rubble
With at least 100 dead and 221 wounded, the police continue their search for survivors under the rubble.
A 23-year-old constable Wajahat Ali told AFP, after being pulled from beneath the collapsed building, "I remained trapped under the rubble with a dead body over me for seven hours. I had lost all hope of survival."
As for Shahid Ali, another survivor, he pointed out that the attack occurred mere seconds following the start of prayers
As for those who lost their lives in this attack, they were buried in several mass prayer ceremonies.
A security official in Peshawar, who chose to remain anonymous, said, "Often in the past militant groups, including the TTP, that carry out attacks in mosques do not claim them," because a mosque is considered a sacred place, the official told AFP.
Pakistan has faced turmoil
Last March, a suicide bomber detonated in a mosque in Peshawar Pakistan, killing at least 35 and injuring 50 people.
In December, at least 4 people were killed and at least 15 others were injured in an explosion in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's Balochistan Province.
Peshawar was also the location of a 2014 massacre by TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan), which stormed a school for army personnel's children and massacred around 150 people, the majority of whom were students.
