Muristek
56 killed, 200 injured in blast at Shia mosque during Friday congregation in northwest Pakistan
Peshawar (Pakistan), March 4
A suicide bombing at a Shia Muslim mosque during Friday prayers in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar killed at least 56 people and injured nearly 200, police and hospital officials said.
Two armed men who arrived near the mosque on a motorcycle opened fire when they were stopped by police, before one of them forced his way into a crowded hall and detonated his suicide vest, according to a senior police official.
The fate of the second attacker remains unclear and authorities were still determining whether he also entered the mosque before the blast, senior police official Ijaz Khan said.
The attack is one of the deadliest in years on Pakistan's Shia minority, which has long been targeted by Sunni Muslim Islamist militants, including Islamic State and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
At least 54 people were killed and 194 people wounded, many of whom were in critical condition, officials at the nearby Lady Reading Hospital said.
According to Sardar Hussain, who lost three relatives in the blast, the mosque was the only place of worship for the Shia community in Peshawar's old city.
Attacks by Islamist insurgents had become an almost daily occurrence in Pakistan until the military launched a crackdown on militants in 2014.
'Panic spread'
Worshippers at the mosque in Peshawar had gathered for Friday prayers, when congregations are usually the largest.
"Panic spread among the worshippers when the firing started.
I ran to save my life," one man, who did not give his name, told Reuters at the hospital where was being treated for injuries.
"Suddenly a man came in and started firing... He shot many people (and) then closed his eyes and blew himself up. After that I have no idea what happened," he said.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the bombing, according to his office.
The attack comes as the Australian cricket team are touring Pakistan for the first time in over two decades and are staying in Islamabad, 140 km (87 miles) from Peshawar.
Pakistan recently started hosting international teams again after security concerns forced them to shift many of their high-profile international hosting to the UAE.
Following the blast, the Australian cricket coach Andrew McDonald said the team touring Pakistan will be guided by security experts.