At least 56 dead and almost 200 injured in an attack on a mosque in Peshawar (Pakistan)

Islamic State acknowledges responsibility for the attack, according to the Amaq agency

MADRID, 4 (EUROPE PRESS)

At least 56 people have died and some 194 have been injured as a result of a suicide attack perpetrated this Friday against the Kocha Risaldar mosque, in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, in the northwest of the country, according to the latest balance of police and media sources. the emergency services.

Initial investigations suggest that two suicide bombers with explosive vests opened fire on security guards guarding the mosque. A security guard and an attacker were killed during this shooting, which did not, however, prevent the second terrorist from entering the compound, where he managed to cause the large explosion, according to Peshawar Police spokesman Mohamad Jan.

Later, the Islamic State issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, according to the Amaq news agency, affiliated with the group. Dozens of Shiites have been killed and injured in a major suicide attack on their temple in Pakistan.

In addition, based on its own sources, Amaq has acknowledged that the suicide bomber, identified as Julaybib al Kabli, detonated an explosives belt, according to the German agency DPA.

The death toll has been confirmed by Lady Reading Hospital spokesman Mohamad Asim to the Dawn newspaper. Most of those injured by the detonation are in the medical center, Asim said, who has also reported that at least a dozen survivors are in critical condition, so the number of deaths could increase in the coming hours. .

The mosque is located in the bazaar of the Kocha Risaldar neighborhood, an area with a Shiite majority in the center of the city and the majority of victims belong to this confession, threatened by both the Pakistani Taliban and the Islamic State, although at the moment no group has taken responsibility for the attack.

The country’s prime minister, Imran Khan, has condemned the attack and ordered priority efforts to provide medical assistance to the wounded.

Pakistani opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif has also strongly condemned the incident in a statement. “The attackers cannot be considered Muslim or human,” the politician lamented. “Words cannot adequately condemn this sheer brutality. Terrorism remains our number one national challenge,” he lamented.