Pakistan Mosque bomb attack kills 30, scores injured

An explosion inside a Shia Mosque in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar on Friday, killed more than 30 people while an unspecified number were injured, many of them critically, state officials say.

The bomb which security operatives described as “very powerful,” occurred as worshippers gathered at the Kucha Risaldar Mosque in Peshawar’s old city for Friday prayers, police said.

“We are in a state of emergency and the injured are being shifted to the hospital. We are investigating the nature of the blast but it seemed to be a suicide attack,” a senior police officer, Mohammad Sajjad Khan, said.

Read also: Pakistan court frees man convicted for murdering sister in ‘honour killing’

A worshipper who survived the attack, Shayan Haider, said he had been preparing to enter the mosque when the powerful explosion threw him to the street.

“When I opened my eyes, there was dust and bodies everywhere,” Haider said.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack but police believe it could be linked to ISIS terrorists.

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