“Shiites in Pakistan and Afghanistan are on our target”; threatens Daesh
PESHAWAR: The death toll from the attack on a Shia mosque in Peshawar’s Koocha Risaldar area a day earlier rose to 63 on Saturday after five of the injured succumbed to their wounds, a spokesperson for the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) confirmed. Presently 37 injured of the blast have been admitted at the hospital, spokesperson added.
On Friday, 57 people, including a policeman, lost their lives and 194 others were injured when a suicide attacker detonated himself inside the mosque located in Peshawar’s old city neighbourhood.
In a statement, LRH spokesperson Muhammad Asim said 37 of those injured are admitted to the hospital, of whom five are in the intensive care unit (ICU) in critical condition. Another injured person has been discharged, he added.
Daesh has accepted this horrific and heinous act. Daesh is an enemy of the Afghan Taliban and has carried out successive operations against them since coming into power last year. Pakistani security officials have insisted Daesh has little presence in Pakistan, yet in their statement claiming responsibility for the mosque attack, the group vowed to carry out more attacks in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“Islamic State (Daesh) fighters are constantly targeting Shiites living in Pakistan and Afghanistan despite the intense security measures adopted by the Taliban militia and the Pakistani police to secure Shi’a mosques and centers,” said the Daesh statement carried on its Amaq News Agency site.
The attacks have mostly been carried out by the Pakistani Taliban since last August when the Afghan Taliban swept into power and America ended its 20-year involvement in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban are not connected to the new Afghan rulers. However, they are hiding out in Afghanistan and despite Pakistan’s repeated request to hand them over, none have yet been found and expelled.
Friday’s attack in Peshawar’s congested old city was the worst in years in Pakistan. The country has seen renewed militant attacks after several years of relative quiet that followed military operations against militant hideouts in the border regions with Afghanistan.
KP police
KP police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari said on Friday that the lone attacker, who was on foot, first killed one of the police guards and then wounded the other before entering the mosque’s hall, some 25 yards away, where he detonated the explosives attached to his body in the third row of worshippers.
Police and witnesses said a man dressed in a black shalwar kameez shot the guards manning the main gate located at some distance from Jamia Masjid Koocha Risaldar, and then entered the mosque where he blew himself up amongst nearly 150 worshippers who had congregated for Friday prayers.
Jamil Khan, one of the policemen standing guard at the gate, was gunned down while his colleague was injured in the subsequent blast.
“The attack took place just when people were preparing for the main Friday congregation,” Jah added. He said police forensic teams recovered 150 ball bearings from the hall.
“At least six kilogrammes of explosives were used in the attack,” he claimed, adding there was no threat alert for February and March.
Three suspects identified: Sheikh Rashid
Federal Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Saturday said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police and security agencies have identified all three suspects involved in the attack and closed to nab them.
In a video message shared on his Twitter handle, Sheikh Rasheed said that the police and investigation agencies have reached close to the suspects and hoped that they would be arrested in the next two to three days.
The interior minister had earlier hinted at the involvement of foreign forces trying to destabilize the country and vowed to foil their nefarious designs.
The minister urged the Opposition not to create confusion and misunderstanding among the people and warned, floods, earthquakes or pandemics do not destroy the country but rumours and anarchy harms a state.
He claimed that the prime minister will complete its constitutional five-year term and vowed that they will once again defeat the Opposition in the NA. The Opposition is fueling anarchy and agitation at a time when the country is moving forward,he added.
The death toll in the suicide bomb attack on the Peshawar mosque a day earlier rose to 63 after six more of the injured succumbed to their injuries, confirmed a spokesperson of the Lady Reading Hospital Saturday.
FIR registered
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Saturday filed a first information report (FIR) of Fridays blast inside a mosque in the Koocha Risaldar area of Peshawar that took lives of 62 people.
The FIR was lodged on the complaint of the station house officer (SHO) of the Khan Raziq police station. Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act has been added in the case.
The SHO stated in the FIR that he rushed to the mosque after hearing sounds of gunshots and a loud explosion. The suicide attacker first opened indiscriminate fire after entering the mosque and then blew himself up, he said.
Sources said that a special investigation team of the CTD has detained two suspects in connection with the investigation into the blast. It has recorded statements of those injured in the blast besides checking footage of CCTV cameras installed in different areas of the city.
At least 62 worshippers lost their lives and more than 150 others got injured when a suicide attacker blew up himself inside a mosque in the Koocha Risaldar area of the city on Friday.
PM directs use of all resources
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday directed to use all state resources to apprehend elements behind Peshawar blast and their facilitators. According to sources, security officials briefed the Prime Minister about the Peshawar blast also presented him the preliminary investigation report.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid also apprised Imran Khan about the details of the incident.
On the other hand, Federal Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Saturday said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police and security agencies have identified all three suspects involved in the attack and closed in on them.
In a video message posted on his Twitter account, the minister said the law enforcement agencies had done a splendid job, adding that police would reach those suspects in one or two days.
Meanwhile, Special Investigation Team of Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has arrested two suspects in connection to investigation of previous days blast in provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Seven shells of 9MM pistol have been collected from the place of the incident while police have also recorded statements of the injured. CTD has also filed a first information report (FIR) on the complaint of the station house officer (SHO) of the Khan Raziq police station. Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act has been added in the case.
The SHO stated in the FIR that he rushed to the mosque after hearing sounds of gunshots and a loud explosion. The suicide attacker first opened indiscriminate fire after entering the mosque and then blew himself up, he said.