At least 58 people have been killed and nearly 200 injured in a suicide bombing at a Shi’ite mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Friday, authorities say.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement. This is one of the biggest attacks by the jihadist organization in Pakistan.
A gunman on a motorcycle approached the mosque yesterday and opened fire before being stopped by police, but managed to break into the mosque and detonate the explosives he brought, police officer Harun Rashid explained.
The perpetrator initially shot police officers guarding the entrance to the mosque, killing one of them, he added.
“The gunman entered the mosque and started firing at the worshipers before finally firing the explosives he was carrying,” Rashid said.
This attack is one of the bloodiest in recent years against the Shiite minority in Pakistan, which is often targeted by Sunni extremist organizations such as the Islamic State and the Pakistani Taliban.
Many of the injured are being treated in critical condition, officials at Lady Reading Hospital said. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has condemned the attack.
Attacks by Islamist groups were an almost daily occurrence in Pakistan until 2014 when the military launched an operation against insurgents.
Source: Capital
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