More than 40 dead in suicide bombing in Pakistan How Putin intimidates his opponents

At least 44 people have been killed in a suicide bombing at a mosque in northwestern Pakistan.

Another 157 worshipers were injured in the attack in the city of Peshawar on Monday, officials at the German news agency said. The attack therefore took place in a highly secured zone, which also includes many police buildings.

Initially, no group claimed responsibility for the attack. Late last year, however, the Pakistani Taliban – who are independent of the Islamic Taliban government in neighboring Afghanistan – declared a ceasefire with the government in Islamabad. Since then, they have claimed several attacks for themselves.

A police officer who survived the attack during midday prayers told Pakistan TV channel Geo News: “It was a powerful explosion. There was smoke everywhere.” Rescuers tried to free the people trapped under the rubble. At the time of the attack, about 300 believers were said to have remained there.

Hospitals called for blood donations after the attack. The majority of the victims were police officers, the clinics said. It was one of the deadliest attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent years.

In Pakistan, the vast majority of the population of over 230 million people is Muslim. About two million people live in the city of Peshawar.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack while visiting a local hospital. “Terrorists want to instill fear by attacking those who have a duty to defend Pakistan,” he said. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah announced an investigation.

Peshawar in the border province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has long been a region of unrest in Pakistan – things have calmed down after a military offensive against Islamist terrorist groups in 2014. In recent years, however, there have been more attacks there. In March 2022, an IS terror militia blew itself up in Peshawar, killing more than 60 people.

The tense security situation in Pakistan has also been felt in the capital Islamabad in recent months. There were numerous checkpoints and increased military presence in the metropolis.

The TTP is an umbrella organization of militant Islamist groups that reportedly numbers several thousand fighters. The army expelled them to Afghanistan between 2008 and 2014. Since the Afghan Taliban came to power in Kabul, the TTP has regrouped in its former strongholds on the Afghan border. (sda/dpa)