Death toll from Peshawar mosque bombing rises to 100

The death toll from the yesterday’s suicide bombing in a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines area rose to 100, while at least 221 were injured, several of them critically, a hospital spokesperson said on Tuesday.

About 100 bodies were taken into the facility, according to Mohammad Asim, the spokesperson for the Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, while 53 individuals are still receiving treatment.

While all the injured people are being treated for their wounds, seven of them have been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), with the death toll feared to rise.

On Monday, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a crowded mosque next to the Police Lines in Peshawar, in a highly fortified security compound, the latest in a string of attacks targeting police.

<p>Authorities use heavy machinery to clear the rubble and search for victims a day after a suicide blast at a mosque inside the police headquarters in Peshawar on January 31. — AFP</p> — Authorities use heavy machinery to clear the rubble and search for victims a day after a suicide blast at a mosque inside the police headquarters in Peshawar on January 31. — AFP

The last major incident of such a nature took place in Peshawar last year when a suicide blast inside a Shia mosque in Kocha Risaldar area claimed 63 lives.

Peshawar Division Commissioner Riaz Mehsud said that the rescue and search operation at the blast site has been completed, after almost 24 hours.

Earlier, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Faizi had said that rescue teams were removing the last part of the collapsed roof of the mosque. “But we are not hopeful of reaching any survivors.”

On the other hand, Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan said that more than 90 per cent of the victims were policemen, between 300 and 400 of whom had gathered in the compound’s mosque for prayers.

Moreover, a preliminary investigation report of the blast has been sent to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The evidence found at the site of the incident indicates that it was a suicide attack.

Also read: IG KP suspects Jamaatul Ahrar behind Peshawar mosque bombing

As per the report, the roof tumbled down as the pillars collapsed, causing a lot of damage. The sources added that a high-level investigation committee has been set up to look into the security lapses.

Sources quoting the report added that the CCTV footage from the Police Lines gate and family quarters is being investigated.

شہید ڈی ایس پی عرب نواز ، شہید ڈی ایس پی عصمت اللہ سمیت 6 شہیدوں کی نماز جنازہ پولیس لائن میں سرکاری اعزاز کیساتھ ادا کردی گئی ہیں۔#Peshawarunderattack #PeshawarAttack #Peshawar pic.twitter.com/XA4H4d4uk8

— Capital City Police Peshawar (@PeshawarCCPO) January 31, 2023

Separately, funeral prayers for six policemen, including deputy superintendent of police Arab Nawaz and Ismatullah, were offered earlier today at the Police Lines area.

On Monday night, collective funeral prayers for 27 police martyrs were offered in Peshawar’s Police Lines area with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Chief Mauzzam Jah Ansari, army officers and officials of civil administration in attendance.