News
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Suicide bomber kills 50 at Jamrud mosque* Teenage bomber detonates explosives during Friday congregation
* 80 injured in attack, most in critical condition
* Emergency declared in Peshawar’s main hospitals
By Sudhir Ahmad Afridi
JAMRUD: A teenage suicide bomber blew himself up among worshippers offering Friday prayers at a mosque in Jamrud, Khyber Agency, killing over 50 and wounding 80, a top government official said.
The blast, which took place at Jamia Masjid Madina in Ghundai area of Jamrud, damaged the walls and floor of the mosque, which is attached to a small seminary. According to locals, around 400 people were in the mosque at the time of the attack. The suicide bomber blew himself up in the mosque’s compound as the worshippers were offering prayers, leaving behind a gory scene with walls and floor splattered with blood while human body parts littered the floor.
The political administration of Jamrud had initially confirmed thirty-three persons killed but revised the death toll to 50, with 80 injured. An official of the administration said that the mosque was attended by poor of the area and no prominent person came to pray in it. The Khasadar Force and the locals rushed to the site to evacuate the injured persons, and took them to various hospitals of Peshawar in private cars and other ambulances.
The local rescuers retrieved the bodies and injured from the mosque and shifted them to Tehsil Headquarter Hospital Jamrud, Hayatabad Medical Complex and Khyber Teaching Hospital. Emergency was declared in Peshawar’s main hospitals where condition of most of the patient was declared unstable as doctors have called for blood donations.
The mosque where that was targeted is located in an area inhabited by Kokikhel tribesmen, who are opposed to Taliban activity and have been fighting to push them out of their region. “The blast could be a reaction to that,” Zeb said. Locals said they had seen a young boy running towards the mosque just as the Friday congregation had ended after which a big explosion was heard. “Many of the wounded succumbed to their injuries, adding to the toll that may rise further as there are still people in critical condition,” region’s top government administrator Mutahir Zeb said.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack in Jamrud, a main town in Khyber, but officials suspected Taliban terrorists who have been active for past years in the tribal region that shares border with Afghanistan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti strongly condemned the suicide bombing, saying it would not deter the government’s resolve of eliminating terrorism and militancy from the country. Meanwhile, Provincial Information Minister, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, said terrorism is an international phenomena and the problem could not be resolved unless the regional powers and US removed the atmosphere of mistrust and lack of confidence among them for permanent resolution of the problem.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk