PESHAWAR: Bodies were still being pulled Tuesday from the wreckage of a mosque blast that targeted police officers in the provincial capital, killing more than 80 people and wounding 150 more.<\/p>\n
The attack happened Monday during Zohr prayers inside a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines area.<\/p>\n
“This morning we are going to remove the last part of the collapsed roof so we can recover more bodies, but we are not hopeful of reaching any survivors,” Bilal Ahmad Faizi, a spokesperson for the rescue organisation 1122, told\u00a0AFP<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Muhammad Asim Khan, a spokesman for Lady Reading Hospital, told\u00a0AFP\u00a0<\/i>that 83 people had been killed, with the death toll rising as more bodies arrived from the scene.<\/p>\n
Shahid Ali, a policeman who survived, said the explosion took place seconds after the imam started prayers.<\/p>\n
“I saw black smoke rising to the sky. I ran out to save my life,” the 47-year-old told\u00a0AFP<\/i>.<\/p>\n
The police said that the bombing occurred at the central hall of the mosque at 1pm as the suicide bomber was standing in the front row, causing the roof to collapse on the worshippers who were participating in the Zohr prayers at that moment.<\/p>\n
They said that the sound of the explosion was so loud that it was heard far away while gunshots were also heard after the blast.<\/p>\n
The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) took responsibility for the attack.<\/p>\n
Day of mourning<\/p>\n
KP Caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan has announced a day of mourning in the province tomorrow (Tuesday) following the heinous attack.<\/p>\n
The national flag will be at half-mast across the province, he said, adding that the government share the grief of the martyrs\u2019 families.<\/p>\n
The interim CM also assured the aggrieved families that the provincial government would not leave them alone in the aftermath of the tragedy.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reached Peshawar where he was briefed on all aspects of the blast. He also visited the injured after the briefing.<\/p>\n
The premier was accompanied by Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah.<\/p>\n
After being questioned by PM Shehbaz about the attack on the mosque, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Moazzam Jah Ansari said that \u201cinvestigations are underway\u201d about how the attack happened and how the terrorist entered the vicinity.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t know where the attacker came from and how he entered?\u201d Ansari said.<\/p>\n
The police chief further said that \u201cthere are family quarters inside the Police Lines and the attacker could be already living in the area\u201d.<\/p>\n
Two more bodies have been pulled out of the rubble, an official of Rescue 1122 said, adding that the services recovered five people trapped under the wreckage.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo injured and three dead bodies have been retrieved from the rubble,\u201d the rescue spokesperson Bilal Faizi said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the Lady Reading Hospital said that 157 injured people were brought to the medical facility after the blast.<\/p>\n
\u201cBodies of 83 people were also transferred to the hospital. At the moment, around 55 injured are getting treatment at the Lady Reading Hospital. Some of the injured are critical, while the condition of most is satisfactory,\u201d Asim said, adding that most people among the injured and dead included police officers.<\/p>\n
Following the blast, the injured were shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar. The hospital appealed to citizens to donate blood for the victims.<\/p>\n
The Khyber Medical College\u2019s Forensic department dean said that the postmortem of 40 bodies has been completed. \u201cBodies of the 40 people have been handed over to their families. A report will be prepared once autopsies of all bodies are done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Funeral prayers of 27 martyrs have been performed with Corp Commander Peshawar, IG Police, and Commandant Frontier Corps in attendance.<\/p>\n
The police team saluted the martyrs, while strict security measures were taken around the Police Lines area.<\/p>\n