DEATH TOLL FROM PAKISTAN MOSQUE BOMBING RISES TO 100

Tue 31 January 2023:

After frantically combing through the debris of a devastated mosque, throughout the night – and Tuesday morning, police called off the search for survivors of a terrorist suicide bombing, in the highly guarded site, where several hundred police – and army men, had gathered for afternoon prayers.

According to the medical official, the death toll from a suicide bombing, at a mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshaawar, has risen to 100.

Police suspect, that 12 kilograms of explosives were used by a suicide bomber, Inspector General of Peshaawar Police, Moazzim Jah Ansari said.

The roof of the mosque, which was located inside a government security compound, collapsed in the bombing, and rescuers had to remove mounds of debris, to recover many of the bodies, authorities said.

Witnesses and survivors described scenes of panic and chaos, as the mosque roof collapsed, leaving many worshipers trapped and screaming underneath heavy rubble.

Questions are being asked over how an attacker wearing a suicide vest, was able to access the heavily fortified area, which includes the headquarters of the provincial police force, and a counterterrorism department.

Prime Minister Saehbaz Sharif promised to take stern action, against those behind the attack, as he visited a hospital in Peshaawar on Monday.

The attack also comes at a fragile time for Pakistan, which has been grappling with a cost of living crisis, as food and fuel shortages wreak havoc in the country, of 220 million.

Sharif’s government has struggled to revive the country’s economy, further devastated by deadly floods last year, that killed more than 1,500 people – and submerged entire villages.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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