57 dead, 200 injured in Peshawar’s imambargah attack

Police say attacker killed two cops at the gate before entering the mosque and blowing himself up

PESHAWAR:

At least 57 people were killed and nearly 200 others injured in a suicide attack at an imambargah in Peshawar's Kocha Risaldar area during Friday prayers.

“It was a suicide attack,” Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Moazzam Jah Ansari confirmed while talking to media persons outside the mosque.

The Islamic State in a statement claimed responsibility for the deadly bomb blast. It said the attack had killed at least 50 and injured more than 200 people. However, the police and hospital officials said earlier on Friday 57 people were killed in the attack.

IG Ansari said, “Five kilogrammes of explosives with 150 ball bearings were used in the [suicide] attack.”
Giving details, he said, “A suicide bomber opened fire on [two] police personnel – his first target – deputed at [the gate of] the mosque and then ran into the mosque blowing himself up in the third row of worshippers,” Ansari informed.

An eyewitness, Zahid Khan, said, "I saw a man firing at two policemen before he entered the mosque. Seconds later I heard a big bang."

The attack comes on the first day of a cricket Test match in Rawalpindi -- around 190 kilometres (120 miles) to the east -- between Pakistan and Australia, who haven't toured the country in nearly a quarter of a century because of security concerns.

The CCTV footage showed an attacker, donning black clothes, walking towards the police personnel and opening fire at them before entering the mosque.

“Another attacker took the weapon of the fallen policeman and ran,” Capital City Police Officer Ijaz Khan informed.

All major health facilities across the provincial capital were put on high alert as soon as the explosion took place. Rescue officials shifted the injured and the dead to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH)—the nearest possible facility. Six of the injured were shifted to Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH).

Muhammad Asim, a spokesperson for the LRH said, “We have received more than 30 bodies.”

He said some of the injured were in critical condition, adding that a large number of doctors and paramedic staff was busy treating the patients.

“Provision of medicine and availability of medical staff and blood supply has been ensured at the emergency department,” Asim maintained.

An initial Bomb Disposal Squad report confirmed that the explosives used in the attack weighed around five to six kilogrammes and were homemade. Ball bearings and other shrapnel-producing material were used in the attack to maximise casualties.

A heavy contingent of armed forces, including Pakistan Army personnel, cordoned off the area and the street leading to the mosque. All shops in the Qissa Khwani Bazaar were also shut down immediately to facilitate the rescuers as the Kocha Risaldar street is so narrow that only one ambulance can move through it at a time.

Apart from the rescue officials, locals also brought victims out of the mosque on stretchers. They were later shifted to the hospital in ambulances.

“There were two police personnel there. One of them embraced martyrdom while the other was wounded,” SSP Operation Haroon Rasheed told media persons. However, the wounded police official succumbed to his injuries during treatment at night.

“No, there was no prior threat alert issued but all the places of worship are provided security —especially for Friday prayers,” Rasheed informed.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan was briefed by Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on the Peshawar blast as well as the security provided to the Australian cricket team touring Pakistan.

A statement shared by the ruling PTI on Twitter said that the interior minister and the PM reviewed the overall law and order and security situation of the country.

Separately, Prime Minister Imran strongly condemned the suicide attack at the imambargah located near the Qissa Khwani Bazaar area of Peshawar.

The premier also directed the health officials to provide medical treatment to the injured and sought an inquiry report from the authorities concerned.

Rashid admitted that the ministry had no prior information about the attack.

“No threat alert was received … we had a meeting a couple of days ago but no threat [alert] was received. We had no information about it,” the interior minister said.

The interior minister, while strongly condemning the terrorist incident, directed the chief secretary and K-P IG to submit a report. He also expressed grief over the loss of lives in the attack, sympathising with the families of the martyred worshipers.

A high-level security meeting, chaired by K-P Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, was held to discuss in detail the security situation across the province. The meeting was attended by K-P IG, additional chief secretary, interior secretary, CCPO and Peshawar commissioner.

Further, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, while condemning the Peshawar bomb blast, said that an investigation into the incident was under way and the public would be informed about the incident later on. He expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

“Peshawar blast is part of a larger conspiracy," the information minister said in a tweet. “The country has fought such conspiracies in the past and, God willing, the enemies of Pakistan will fail again.”

Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif condemned the suicide bombing, saying those who attacked worshipers could neither be called Muslims nor human beings.

He said the deteriorating law and order situation in the country was a matter of concern, adding that he has maintained that the issue of terrorism needs serious consideration. “The return of terrorism is not a good omen for the nation,” the opposition leader said while expressing condolences and sympathy with the bereaved families.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari said that the attack would not have happened if "nurseries of terrorism had been destroyed".

The former president, while condemning the incident, said terrorists were the enemies of the country and the nation and must be eliminated. While praying for the speedy recovery of the injured, Zardari reminded that there was still time to fully implement the National Action Plan.

Read: Suicide attacker, handlers used rickshaw to reach Peshawar imambargah: CTD

In a separate statement, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also condemned the terrorism incident in Peshawar, saying the terrorists attacked humanity by targeting innocent worshipers.
While demanding that the government must immediately arrest the terrorists and their facilitators involved in the incident, Bilawal regretted that there was no real implementation of the National Action Plan.

Ulema have strongly condemned the terror attack. “This is an attack on all sects,” Muhabat Khan Mosque Chief Khateeb Maulana Tayyab Qureshi said at a news conference in the provincial capital. “Ulema from all sects are united.”

Talking to media persons outside the LRH, Awami National Party’s former provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar said, “Militants are regrouping and this is a point of serious concern. Motive behind this attack could be throwing the country into a sectarian conflict.”

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPA Ikhtiar Wali also condemned the attack on worshipers. He demanded that Interior Minister Rashid should resign immediately for failing to foil the terrorist attack.