At least 89 people were killed and 150 wounded in an attack on the Peshawar police headquarters mosque in northwest Pakistan, where rescuers continued to remove bodies from the rubble on Tuesday.
Text: RFI / AFP
The attack occurred Monday during evening prayers in the provincial capital of Peshawar, near areas bordering Afghanistan where Islamist militancy has grown.
During the night of Monday, rescuers extracted nine bodies from the rubble of the wall and roof of the mosque.
The death toll rose to 89 after the death of six hospitalized wounded, Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan told AFP.
More than 90% of the victims were policemen, said Muhammad Ijaz Khan.
There were between 300 and 400 policemen in the mosque at the time of the attack, he added.
«I remained trapped under the rubble with several bodies on top of it for seven hours. I had lost hope of surviving,” police officer Wajahat Ali, 23, told AFP at the local hospital.
Muhammad Asim Khan, a spokesman for the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, told AFP that more bodies of victims arrived at night.
“This morning (Tuesday) we are going to remove the last part of the collapsed roof in order to recover more bodies, but we do not expect to find any survivors,” Bilal Ahmad Faizi, a spokesman for the rescue organization 1122, told AFP.
At least 20 of the police officers killed were buried after a prayer ceremony, their coffins lined up and draped with the Pakistani flag.
Shahid Ali, a police officer who survived the bombing, said the explosion occurred seconds after the imam began his prayers.
«I saw a black smoke go up to the sky. I ran out to save myself,” she recounted. “I still hear people’s screams in my head. They were screaming for help.”
“Terrorists want to create fear by attacking those who carry out their duty to defend Pakistan,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement.
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Growing militancy in Pakistan
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes amid deteriorating security in the country.
Pakistan has faced a deteriorating security situation in recent months, particularly since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
After several years of relative calm, there were again attacks by the Pakistani branch of the Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the IS-K and Baluch separatist groups.
Pakistan reproaches the Taliban for allowing these groups to use its territory to plan attacks, something the Kabul authorities deny.
Peshawar Police Headquarters is one of the most secure sites in the city, with intelligence and counter-terrorism offices on its premises.
Provinces around the country announced they were raising the alert level after the explosion, reinforcing checkpoints and sending additional security forces.
In the capital Islamabad, snipers were installed at buildings and entrances to the city.
The attack occurred on the day that the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was scheduled to visit Islamabad, but the trip was canceled at the last minute due to bad weather.
Pakistan is also preparing to receive a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday to negotiate a crucial loan to avoid defaulting on its debt.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday condemned the attack as “abhorrent”, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent his condolences for the “horrific attack”.
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