Hospital official says at least 59 people were killed and 157 others were wounded after a suicide bomber detonated explosives that apparently targeted policemen praying in a mosque in Peshawar, 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, BBC confirmed.
The Pakistan Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, have denied involvement after an initial claim by one of its commanders.
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.’
A hospital spokesman told the BBC the death toll stood at 59, while 157 people had been injured.
Between 300 and 400 police officers were in the area at the time, Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan told local media.
The mosque is in one of the most heavily controlled areas of the city, which includes police headquarters and intelligence and counter-terrorism bureaus.
