PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Police investigating a suicide bombing that killed more than 100 people in a Pakistani mosque said Tuesday that several people had been arrested. security check.
The bombing, the deadliest in a decade to hit Peshawar, a rebellious northwestern city near the Afghan border, killed all but three of the police, the first in recent history. Pakistani security forces suffered the most in the attacks.
Bombers struck Monday at a mosque built for police and their families living in a heavily fortified area as hundreds of worshipers were gathering for noon prayers.
“We found some good leads and based on these leads we have made a large number of arrests,” Peshawar Police Chief Ijaz Khan told Reuters news agency.
“Inside assistance cannot be ruled out, but as the investigation is still ongoing, we are unable to share any details.”
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Investigators, including counter-terrorism and intelligence officials, have focused on how the attackers managed to break through military and police checkpoints and reach the Polylines area. The Police Line District is a self-contained encampment in the colonial city center and home to the middle class. – Junior police officers and their families.
[1/6] Rescue workers clear debris while searching for victims after a suicide bombing at a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, on January 31, 2023. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said he was in the front row of the chapel when the bombers struck. The body of the assailant has been recovered, state police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari told Reuters.
“We believe the attackers are not an organized group,” he added.
The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the most active militant group in the region, has denied responsibility for the attacks, although no group has so far claimed. not. Interior Minister Rana Sanaura told parliament that the breakaway faction of the TTP should be held accountable.
The blast destroyed the upper floors of the mosque. In September 2013, Orr became the deadliest in Peshawar since his two suicide bombings at the Saints Church killed dozens of followers.
Peshawar sits on the edge of Pashtun lands, a region plagued by violence for the past two decades.
The TTP is an umbrella group of Sunni and sectarian Islamist factions that oppose the government in Islamabad. The group has recently stepped up its attacks on police.
Reported by Jibran Ahmad of Peshawar and Asif Shahzad of Islamabad. Written by Miral Family.Edited by Simon Cameron Moore
Our criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
