Peshawar Mosque Blast: Cops Say Bomb Parceled to High Security Area in Parts; Death Toll Reaches 101
Edited By: Shankhyaneel Sarkar
Last Updated: February 01, 2023, 17:27 IST
People stand amid the rubble, following a suicide blast in a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan (Image: Reuters)
The police said it made arrests in connection to the Peshawar suicide bomb blast. The death toll on Wednesday reached 101
Peshawar Police on Wednesday said that some arrests were made in connection with the suicide bomb attack on a mosque in the city’s Police Lines area. The death toll from the blast rose to 101 on Wednesday.
Peshawar police chief Ijaz Khan on Wednesday told Reuters that his team have made a few arrests in connection with the bombing and have launched a probe to understand how the suicide bomber entered the area which has a high security cover.
He also said that the police has not yet ruled out the aspect of internal assistance being provided to the attacker to carry out the bombing.
The mosque was situated in Peshawar’s Red Zone area, which on normal days is frequented by several hundred police officers, and people have to cross two security checkpoints to enter the area where the blast has occurred.
Police in Peshawar have set up two joint investigation teams (JITs) to probe the attack. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari said the city police chief will probe the security lapse and intelligence officials will aim to find those who acted as abettors.
He also said that the suicide bombers entered the mosque as a guest and was carried 10-12 kgs of explosive materials in bits and pieces.
The police official also said that the explosives may have parcelled to the highly secure zone. He pointed out that the roof of the mosque caved in due to the volume of explosives.
Recent reports suggest that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) distanced itself from the attacks and the people familiar with the developments told Pakistan-based news agencies that a local faction of the TTP may have been behind the bombing.
At least 60 people remain hospitalised across several hospitals in the province and at least seven people are currently in critical condition. Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital is treating 49 people injured in the blast. The hospital spokesperson said that some of those who were injured were discharged earlier in the day.
Another highly placed police official told Dawn that people will have to wait for sometime before expecting results from the investigation and said that it will take time to scrutinise CCTV camera footage covering the past month.
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