The death toll from the Peshawar Police Lines mosque blast jumped to 95 as more bodies were retrieved from under the rubble. Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) spokesman Mohammad Asim said that 24 more bodies were discovered from under the debris of the mosque that had flattened after a suicide bomber blew himself up during Zuhr prayers on Monday.
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He said that the death toll reached 93, and the number of injured had soared to over 220. He said that 57 inured were being treated at the Lady Reading Hospital. The suicide bomber had sneaked inside the mosque in a highly fortified and red zone security after passing through several barricades manned by security officials.
The compound also houses offices of the police and the counter-terrorism department.
Suicide blast struck mosque Peshawar Police Chief Ijaz Khan said the mosque was packed with 400 worshippers when the suicide blast struck. Police said that of the total dead, 27 were police officials. The suicide bomber, who is yet to be identified, blew himself up when hundreds of people had lined up to offer their Zuhr prayer.
The Peshawar police chief said that they had found traces of explosives. He confessed that a security lapse had clearly occurred as the suicide bomber slipped through the compound’s most secure area. He said an inquiry had been launched to determine how the bomber breached such an elite security cordon and if there was any inside help.
Earlier, the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, the worst in Peshawar since March 2022, when an Islamic State suicide bombing killed 58 people in a mosque during Friday prayers.
