Bomb Blast in Mosque Kills 59 Person, 157 Injured

At least 59 people were killed and 157 others were wounded after a suicide bomber detonated explosives inside a mosque in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, January 30.

 

The blast occurred at a mosque near police offices in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, not far from the country’s border with Afghanistan.

 

More than 150 people were reportedly were praying when the suicide bomber struck causing the roof to collapse from the impact.

 

 

The Pakistan Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, have claimed responsibility for the attack.

Among those killed were at least 33 police officers.

 

A report from Reuters say it isn’t clear how the bomber was able to slip into the walled compound, which houses the police headquarters in the northwestern city of Peshawar, and located in a high-security zone with other government buildings.

 

Pakistani Prime Minster Shehbaz Sharif, who visited the scene in Peshawar on Monday, condemned the bombing and urged people to donate blood to help save the wounded.

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad also issued a statement condemning the “horrific attack.”