PESHAWAR: At least 50 people were killed and scores wounded on Friday in a suicide bombing at a minority Shia mosque in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, police said.
The blast took place in the congested Qissa Khawani bazaar as people were offering Friday prayers.
The death toll is expected to rise substantially as many of the injured are in critical condition, police and hospital officials said.
Authorities have not confirmed who may be behind the attack, and no group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. However, both Daesh and the Pakistani Taliban have carried out similar attacks against minority groups in the past.
“It was a suicide blast, which left 50 dead,” Haroon Rashid, senior superintendent of police, told Arab News.
Muhammad Asim, a spokesman at the Lady Readying Hospital, the largest medical facility in Peshawar, told Arab News at least 60 people had been injured.
“People from all age groups have been brought in,” he told reporters, saying most of the injured were in a critical condition.
Sher Gul Safi, an official at the Edhi Rescue service, said he had counted 56 dead and over 100 wounded.
“We are now transporting the dead bodies to their homes,” he told Arab News. “We’re busy in (a) rescue and relief operation, transporting the dead.”
An eyewitness, Ali Asghar, who himself sustained minor injuries from the blast, told reporters: “We were preparing for prayers when all in a sudden a terrorist entered with a pistol and started firing at people, killing many one by one, which was followed by a huge blast. The explosion took place in the main hall of the mosque.”
In a Twitter post, Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the blast and called for an investigation.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said a report had been sought from the provincial inspector general of police and chief secretary.
Pakistan’s information minister, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, tweeted that the Peshawar blast was a “link in a large conspiracy,” in a veiled reference to neighbors India and Afghanistan, countries Pakistan often blames for supporting militants who carry out such attacks.