Security officials, rescue workers and members of the media gather at the mosque attacked by a suicide bomber in Peshawar yesterday.
PESHAWAR: A suicide bombing at a religious centre killed 15 worshippers yesterday, the third major attack to test the new government since the Taliban vowed revenge for a US drone strike that killed its deputy commander.
The spate of violence has shattered relative calm after the May election that returned former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to power, and underscores the challenges he faces in restoring stability to the militancy-hit nation.
More than 60 people have been killed in less than a week from attacks that included suicide bombers targeting women students, a hospital and a funeral procession.
Yesterday’s blast tore through a Shia seminary and mosque in the volatile city of Peshawar, police said, adding 40 people were injured. TV images showed dazed victims in bloodied clothes wandering through rubble and shattered tiles. “The bomber was brought by two people who shot dead the security guard,” city police chief Shafiullah Khan said.
He said that the bomber detonated his explosives in the mosque when people were offering Friday prayers. “One attacker wearing a suicide vest entered the mosque and blew himself up in front of the worshippers.”
He said that three attackers tried to enter the Hussaini madressa in Chamkini area but faced resistance by the security guard at the entrance. He said two attackers were prevented from entering the complex while one sneaked into the Imambargah after the guard was gunned down.
Security forces blamed the Pakistani Taliban for the attack, though the group denied involvement.
Before the election, Sharif suggested he would be willing to negotiate to end four years of war with the Taliban. But the group withdrew an offer of talks after a May 28 drone strike killed its deputy leader Wali-ur-Rehman.
“There was no formal session of talks with the government but both sides were making a plan when the drone carried out missile strikes,” Taliban spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said this week. The group vowed to “teach a lesson” to Pakistan and the US for the killing. It believes the Pakistani government cooperates with Washington on drone attacks.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban in Pakistan has carried out attacks against the military and civilians. It is a separate entity to the Afghan Taliban, though allied with them.
Reuters
