At least 100 people were killed in a mosque bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan on Monday, marking one of the deadliest attacks in the country in recent years. The death toll was confirmed by Muhammad Asim Khan, spokesperson for Lady Reading Hospital in the city.
Nasarullah Khan, a police official who survived the explosion, described the incident as a “huge burst of flames” before being covered in a plume of black dust. He was trapped in the rubble for three hours with a broken foot.
The mosque was largely destroyed, with walls reduced to fragments and windows and paneling shattered by the powerful blast. The majority of the casualties were worshipers who were mainly law enforcement officials.
Hope for finding survivors is fading as rescue workers search through the rubble. Bilal Faizi, a rescue spokesperson, stated that mostly dead bodies are being recovered and no one is expected to be found alive.
The mosque bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan on Monday is a result of the declining security situation in the area. The attack was claimed by two TTP officials as “revenge” for the death of a TTP militant, but later denied by TTP’s main spokesperson.
The TTP is a designated foreign terrorist organization operating in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. The breakdown of a ceasefire between TTP and Pakistan’s government last year escalated violence and increased cross-border tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Authorities are investigating the incident, but have not confirmed the cause. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, condemned the attack as brutal and un-Islamic.
