Death toll of Peshawar mosque blast hits 67

DI Khan resident Ghazanfar Baloch becomes latest to embrace martyrdom

PESHAWAR:

The death toll of a recent suicide bombing at an in imambargah in Peshawar’s Kocha Risaldar area has hit 67 as another person injured in the horrific attack embraced martyrdom on Sunday. He has been identified as Ghazanfar Baloch, a resident of Dera Ismail Khan.

His body has been sent to his hometown for burial after offering his funeral prayers. On March 4, the imambargah was targeted by multiple attackers, two of whom shot the police guards at the entrance to a packed mosque at Peshawar's historic Qissa Khwani Bazaar. Later, one of them entered the mosque and detonated his explosives-laden vest in the middle of worshippers offering Friday prayers.

The suicide bomber was accompanied by two handlers who escorted him to the mosque, according to CCTV footage. The suicide bomber dressed in dark clothes and his facilitators stopped near Kocha Risaldar where the mosque was located. The facilitators, at a distance from the attacker, called the bomber back and talked to him for a little bit before heading towards Kohati Chowk. After a while, the suicide bomber came back alone and proceeded to the mosque to carry out the bombing.

Hours after the incident, the CTD had said a suicide bomber and his two handlers had entered the provincial capital via Namak Mandi and then headed towards Kocha Risaldar area using Kohati Gate to reach near the imambargah in a rickshaw. The Islamic State in a statement had claimed responsibility for the deadly bomb blast. A day after the attack, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid had claimed that three attackers had been identified.

Speaking to reporters in Peshawar, Special Assistant to K-P Chief Minister Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, alongside Peshawar Capital City Police Officer Muhammad Ijaz Khan, had maintained that the blast had not occurred because of the negligence of the government or any law enforcement agency.
“Intelligence agencies have collected evidence and hopefully the culprits and network of the attackers would be identified in the next 48 hours,” he had added.

Briefing the media on the occasion, the city’s police official had said the suicide bomber had been identified and investigative teams had reached out to his family. He had added that the bomber was originally from Afghanistan and had been living in Pakistan for decades.

The CCPO had said a team comprising personnel of the CTD, Peshawar police and intelligence agencies had obtained important evidence from the scene.

“The evidence collected from the scene included the bomber’s body parts, fingerprints, etc. Bullet shells from the pistol used by the attacker have also been found.”