A heavy toll for Pakistan. At least 33 people were killed and 150 others injured in an explosion on Monday January 30 in a mosque, located in the heart of the police headquarters in Peshawar, in the northwest of the country. The explosion occurred at prayer time. It blew the roof and a wall of the mosque, according to an AFP journalist. According to him, bodies of deceased people were taken away in ambulances. “Other bodies were taken out. Currently, our number one priority is to save people trapped under the rubble.”said an official of the regional authorities.
The police headquarters in Peshawar is however one of the best monitored areas of the city. It also houses the premises of various intelligence agencies. According to the police, the explosion occurred in the second row of worshipers gathered for prayer. Bomb disposal teams were on hand to examine the possibility that it was caused by a suicide bomber. In March 2022, a suicide attack claimed by a local branch of the Islamic State group in a Shiite mosque in Peshawar killed 64 people. It was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since 2018.