At least 28 people were killed and 150 others were injured following a blast inside a mosque in Pakistan’s Peshawar on Monday. Local media reported the explosion was caused by a suspected suicide attack.
The explosion took place at around 1.40 pm near Peshawar’s Police Lines area after the Zuhr prayers.
One side of the mosque collapsed due to the impact of the blast. A video shot from inside the mosque showed debris on the ground.
Geo News reports stated a ‘suicide attacker’ blew himself up inside the mosque during prayers. The suicide attacker was present in the front row during the prayers when he exploded himself, PTI quoted security officials as saying.
Those injured were shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, the officials said. Hospital sources said 13 of those injured were in a critical condition. As the death toll and the number of injured rises, the Peshawar Governor has appealed to the residents to donate blood, as per Dunya News.
An emergency has been imposed in the locality and the area has been cordoned off.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the blast. Shehbaz Sharif said that the attackers responsible for the blast inside the mosque “have nothing to do with Islam”.
“Terrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan,” the Pakistan PM added.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan called for improving intelligence gathering to “combat the growing threat of terrorism”.Meanwhile, following the blast in Peshwar, Islamabad Police issued directions for a “security high-alert”.