Pakistan Mosque Explosion Death Toll Rises to 92

The death toll after the suicide attack in a mosque in northwest Pakistan has risen to at least 92. At least ten bodies were recovered from under the rubble of the collapsed building on the night from Monday to Tuesday. A spokesman for the local police said.

 

More than 220 people were injured.

The explosion occurred during midday prayers on Monday in a high-security zone of Peshawar, where many police buildings are also located. The victims are mainly police officers. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has condemned the attack. “It was nothing short of an attack on Pakistan,” he said.

So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Late last year, however, the Pakistani Taliban, which operates independently of the Islamist Taliban government in neighbouring Afghanistan, declared a ceasefire with the government in Islamabad. Since then, they have claimed multiple attacks. The terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) has also claimed attacks on mosques in the past.

In Pakistan, the vast majority of the population of more than 230 million people is Muslim. Peshawar, with its approximately two million inhabitants, has long been the centre of a troubled region in Pakistan. However, things calmed down after a military offensive against Islamist terrorist groups in 2014.

In recent years, however, the number of attacks has been on the rise again. An IS suicide bomber blew himself up in Peshawar in March 2022. More than 60 people were killed.