Sixty-one people were reported dead, more than 51 injured and many brothers and sisters still under the rubble waiting for help in a violent attack on a mosque in Peshawar in Pakistan. It is estimated that there were around 200-350 people inside the structure.
The terrorist act was carried out by a suicide bomber. The mosque is located in the red zone of the city where the Parliament and many government buildings are located, a structure frequented by law enforcement personnel.
The Pakistani Taliban group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), through their commander Sarbakaf Mohmand, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The armed military group (TTP) operates along the Afghan-Pakistani border and is closely allied to the Afghan Taliban who have carried out an insurgency in Pakistan for the past 15 years, fighting for stricter application of Islamic laws in the country and a reduction of the Pakistani military presence in the former tribal regions.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack. In a statement he stated that "the act has nothing to do with Islam" and called for unity against terrorism.
Editorial