The explosion took place in a mosque, a few minutes before the start of Friday prayers, an event that usually brings together a large number of worshipers in Peshawar. The attack killed at least 56 people in this city in northwestern Pakistan. “I can confirm that at least 56 people are dead and 194 others are injured.in the attack, said Muhammad Asim Khan, spokesman for Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, which treated the injured.
The mosque, frequented by Shiites, is located on a narrow street in the Kocha Risaldar district, near the historic Qissa Khwani bazaar. “I was just outside the mosque when I saw a man shoot two policemen before entering the mosque. Seconds later I heard a loud bang“says Zahid Khan, witness to the attack. Shiraz Ali, a resident, assures for his part that he has “saw a man dressed in black shoot a policeman and then enter the mosque“. Peshawar, a city located about fifty kilometers from Afghanistan, is frequently the scene of suicide attacks. She had not known such a deadly one since 2018.
Attacks targeting religious minorities
In Pakistan, mosques are regularly the target of similar attacks. They are perpetrated by the Pakistani Taliban Movement (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan), which has pledged allegiance to Al-Qaida, or by its rival, the regional branch of the Islamic State group. They target civilians from Pakistani religious minorities, such as Shiites or Sufis, considered heretics by the Taliban and radical Sunni jihadists. These attacks against Shiites, who represent about 20% of the Pakistani population, have multiplied in recent years.
In 2007, the Pakistani Taliban decreed the “jihadagainst the Pakistani government in Islamabad, accusing it in particular of its links with the United States. Since the overthrow of the Afghan government by the Taliban, the government in Islamabad deplores an increase in these attacks. In Pakistan, more than 60 people have been killed in similar attacks over the past six months.
Update : update of the balance sheet this Friday at 1:50 p.m.