At least 59 killed, dozens injured in Pakistan suicide bombing
Most of the casualties in Peshawar include police personnel
A suicide bomber struck a crowded mosque inside a police compound in Pakistan on Monday, causing the roof to collapse and killing at least 59 people and wounding more than 150 others, officials said.
Most of the casualties were police officers. It was not clear how the bomber was able to slip into the walled compound, which houses the police headquarters in the northwestern city of Peshawar and is itself located in a high-security zone with other government buildings.
Sarbakaf Mohmand, a commander for the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter. The main spokesperson for the organization was not immediately available for comment.
"The sheer scale of the human tragedy is unimaginable. This is no less than an attack on Pakistan," tweeted Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who visited the wounded in Peshawar and vowed "stern action" against those behind the bombing. He expressed his condolences to families of the victims, saying their pain "cannot be described in words."
More than 300 in mosque
Pakistan, which is mostly Sunni Muslim, has seen a surge in militant attacks since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended their ceasefire with government forces. Monday's assault on a Sunni mosque was one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent years.
More than 300 worshippers were praying in the mosque, with more approaching, when the bomber set off his explosives vest. Many were injured when the roof came down, according to Zafar Khan, a police officer, and rescuers had to remove mounds of debris to reach worshippers still trapped under the rubble.
A survivor, 38-year-old police officer Meena Gul, said he was inside the mosque when the bomb went off. He said he doesn't know how he survived unhurt. He could hear cries and screams after the bomb exploded, Gul said.
Mohammad Asim, a spokesperson at the main government hospital in Peshawar, put the death toll at 59, with 157 others wounded. Police official Siddique Khan said the bomber blew himself up while among the worshippers.
A nearby hospital listed many of the wounded in critical condition, raising fears the death toll could rise.
Senior police and government officials attended the funerals of 30 police officers and arrangements to bury the rest were being made. Coffins were wrapped in the Pakistani flag their bodies were later handed over to relatives for burials.
Rescuers scrambled trying to remove mounds of debris from the mosque grounds and get to worshippers still trapped under the rubble, police said. Khan said several of the wounded were listed in critical condition at a hospital and there were fears the death toll would rise.
Imran Khan, the former prime minister ousted in a non-confidence vote last year, also condemned the bombing, calling it a "terrorist suicide attack" in a Twitter posting.
"My prayers & condolences go to victims families," said the former prime minister. "It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering & properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism."
Peshawar is the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan and has been the scene of frequent militant attacks.
The Pakistani Taliban are known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, and are a separate group but also a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.
The TTP has waged an insurgency in Pakistan over the past 15 years, fighting for stricter enforcement of Islamic laws in the country, the release of its members who are in government custody and a reduction of the Pakistani military presence in the country's former tribal regions.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks since November when the Pakistani Taliban ended their ceasefire with government forces.
The truce ended as Pakistan was still contending with last summer's unprecedented flooding that killed 1,739 people, destroyed more than two million homes, and at one point submerged as much as one third of the country. The flood damage totalled to more than $30 billion and authorities are now, months later, still struggling to arrange tents, shelter and food for the survivors.
Cash-strapped Pakistan is currently also facing one of the worst economic crises and is seeking a crucial instalment of $1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund.