Suicide bomber kills 53 as Muslims say prayers
Source: Agencies |
August 20, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A SUICIDE bomber struck a mosque in a Pakistani tribal region during Friday prayers, killing at least 53 people and wounding 127 others in the deadliest attack in the country in recent weeks.
The attack came during the holy month of Ramadan, a time of fasting, sharing and heightened community spirit for Muslims.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but the Taliban and other Islamist militants have previously targeted mosques, especially if they believe enemies - such as army soldiers or anti-militant tribesmen - are present.
The mosque hit yesterday is in Ghundi, a village in the Khyber tribal region, part of Pakistan's tribal belt.
Khyber has long been a base for Islamist militants, and the Pakistani army has waged multiple operations aimed at pacifying the region but with limited success.
Khyber also is a key region for the United States and NATO, because a large portion of non-lethal supplies heading to US forces in Afghanistan passes through it.
Some 300 people had gathered for prayers in the Sunni mosque, and many were on their way out when the explosion occurred, local administrator Iqbal Khan said.
"All the evidence we have gathered confirms that it is a suicide attack," said Fazal Khan, another local official who also confirmed the casualty figures.
He said witnesses said the bomber was a young man.
'The cruelest thing'
Saleem Khan, 21, said people panicked after the blast, and that amid the smoke, cries and blood, several ran over him when he fell.
"Whoever did it in the holy month of Ramadan cannot be a Muslim," he said from a hospital bed in the city of Peshawar. "It is the cruelest thing any Muslim would do."
TV footage from the scene showed a heavily damaged building. Prayer caps, shoes and green prayer mats were scattered across a blood-splattered floor, while ceiling fans were twisted and walls blackened. Men comforted a young boy who wept as he held his hand to his heart.
The attack appeared to be the deadliest since twin bombings in mid-June killed around 40 people in Peshawar. That attack was believed to be part of a wave of bombings staged by militants to retaliate over the US killing of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in May.
The Pakistani Taliban and their affiliates stage attacks in Pakistan because they oppose Islamabad's alliance with the US.
Also yesterday, two US missiles struck a house in a tribal region that was once a Pakistani Taliban stronghold, killing four people, intelligence officials said.
The strike came as Pakistani-US relations are struggling since the raid that killed bin Laden in the northwest Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad.
The attack came during the holy month of Ramadan, a time of fasting, sharing and heightened community spirit for Muslims.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but the Taliban and other Islamist militants have previously targeted mosques, especially if they believe enemies - such as army soldiers or anti-militant tribesmen - are present.
The mosque hit yesterday is in Ghundi, a village in the Khyber tribal region, part of Pakistan's tribal belt.
Khyber has long been a base for Islamist militants, and the Pakistani army has waged multiple operations aimed at pacifying the region but with limited success.
Khyber also is a key region for the United States and NATO, because a large portion of non-lethal supplies heading to US forces in Afghanistan passes through it.
Some 300 people had gathered for prayers in the Sunni mosque, and many were on their way out when the explosion occurred, local administrator Iqbal Khan said.
"All the evidence we have gathered confirms that it is a suicide attack," said Fazal Khan, another local official who also confirmed the casualty figures.
He said witnesses said the bomber was a young man.
'The cruelest thing'
Saleem Khan, 21, said people panicked after the blast, and that amid the smoke, cries and blood, several ran over him when he fell.
"Whoever did it in the holy month of Ramadan cannot be a Muslim," he said from a hospital bed in the city of Peshawar. "It is the cruelest thing any Muslim would do."
TV footage from the scene showed a heavily damaged building. Prayer caps, shoes and green prayer mats were scattered across a blood-splattered floor, while ceiling fans were twisted and walls blackened. Men comforted a young boy who wept as he held his hand to his heart.
The attack appeared to be the deadliest since twin bombings in mid-June killed around 40 people in Peshawar. That attack was believed to be part of a wave of bombings staged by militants to retaliate over the US killing of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in May.
The Pakistani Taliban and their affiliates stage attacks in Pakistan because they oppose Islamabad's alliance with the US.
Also yesterday, two US missiles struck a house in a tribal region that was once a Pakistani Taliban stronghold, killing four people, intelligence officials said.
The strike came as Pakistani-US relations are struggling since the raid that killed bin Laden in the northwest Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
