According to police, at least 30 people were killed in gunfire or an explosion that occurred in a mosque near Peshawar, northwest Pakistan’s Afghan border.
The attack targeted the Kucha Risaldar Mosque in Peshawar’s old city at a time when Shia Muslim worshippers were gathering for Friday prayers.
Two gunmen initially opened fire at police officers outside the building, Peshawar’s Police Chief Mohammed Ejaz Khan has said.
One perpetrator and one officer were killed in the shootout, while the second attacker managed to make his way into the mosque and that’s when the blast went off, according to Khan. He said that around 150 people were inside.
“We are in a state of emergency and the injured are being shifted to the hospital,”Reuters received the following statement from a local police officer.
Investigators are trying to find out more details regarding the incident. “seemed to be a suicide attack,”He stated.
One survivor said that he was entering the mosque just as the blast hit and he fell back to the street. “I opened my eyes and there was dust and bodies everywhere,”He stated.
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ISIS claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on a southern Afghanistan mosque by suicide bombers
Although no group claims responsibility, both Islamic State (Pakistani Taliban) and Pakistani Taliban were active in the region, and carried out similar attacks.
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