At least 30 people were killed and dozens injured in a attack on Friday prayers at a mosque in Peshawar
At least 30 people have been killed and dozens injured in an attack during Friday prayers at the Shia main mosque in Risaldar a well known Qissa Khawani Bazaar street in the provincial capital Peshawar.
A spokesman for Lady Reading Hospital Muhammad Asim confirmed the deaths to the ccr News. He said that more than 60 people were injured & about 10 of them were in critical condition.
Speaking to media, Haroon Rasheed SSP Operations Peshawar said that apparently it was a sui-cide attack during which the policemen at the gate were targeted first after which the assailant entered the mosque and blew himself up.
SSP Operations Haroon Rashid said the attacker first targeted police guards at the gate killing one police constable & seriously injuring another.
According to eyewitnesses a large number of worshipers were present in the mosque at the time of attack.
Local officials say the number of injured is high and security-forces have cordoned off the area.
Federal Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed condemned the incident & said that a report on the incident has been sought from the Chief Secretary and IG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Preparations for prayers were in progress
Ali Haider, an eyewitness to the incident, told the ccr that at least one assailant came to the mosque with a pistol while the Friday prayers were being prepared and started firing at the worshipers. The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a police station.
According to CCR correspondent Bilal Ahmed there is great grief and anger in the area after the blast and no policeman is being allowed to enter the affected mosque. Upon arrival the situation returned to normal.
SSP Operations further said that no specific threat alert was issued in this regard but security was deployed under general alert.
According to journalist Muhammad Zubair Khan, the main mosque in Kocha Risaldar is the main Shia mosque in Peshawar where people from almost all over Peshawar come to offer Friday prayers.
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Kocha Risaldar is a very narrow and complex street area.
An eyewitness to the incident said that-due to the narrow roads it was difficult to transport the injured to the hospital as the vehicle could not reach the accident site.
The eyewitness said that this is reason why the injured were carried on their hands and beds from three to four hundred meters to road and from there they are being taken to the hospital by ambulance.
According toanother eyewitness the Friday sermon was going on in the mosque when the first heavy firing took place. It simply came to our notice then. The firing may have lasted for a minute or two followed by a loud explosion.
Doors and walls of the mosque shook with blast. This mosque is not very big. It has a capacity of 400 to 450 worshipers. The mosque was full of worshipers at the time of the incident.
According to another person in the area the people are very angry at the moment. They are chanting slogans against the police the government and the administration while security forces have recently arrived on the scene
An audio from the scene shows people being asked to come to the hospital and donate blood over a loudspeaker.
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