Many killed in Pakistan mosque blast

AL Jazeera Central & South Asia

At least 40 people reported dead after blast targets place of worship in main town of Khyber Agency, in northwest. Last Modified: 19 Aug 2011 11:57

At least 40 people have been killed and dozens more wounded after a blast ripped through a mosque in the Ghundai area of Khyber Agency, northwestern Pakistan. The blast took place as people were leaving the mosque in Jamrud, Khyber's main town, after Friday prayers, with reports indicating that it was caused by a lone suicide bomber. Local administration officials indicated that many of the wounded were in critical condition and that the death toll could rise. Iqbal Khan, a local administrator, initially told the AP news agency that the number of wounded was 25, but local officials told Al Jazeera that it was closer to 80. The AP reported that about 300 people had been attending the prayers. "It was a suicide attack. The bomber was wearing about 8-10kg of explosives and was on foot. He detonated in the main prayer hall," said Khalid Mumtaz Kundi, the deputy chief of the district administration. He said that ball bearings had been found at the site of the blast. Iftikhar Khan, an official at the Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar, told AFP that 40 wounded people had been brough to that facility alone. Some of the wounded were also taken to the Khyber Teaching Hospital and the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar. 'Jam-packed mosque' Live television footage from Peshawar hospitals showed ambulances arriving with victims from the blast, while footage from the scene showed men walking through a shattered building littered with broken glass. The injured were taken to various hospitals in nearby Peshawar, the provincial capital [EPA] Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Islamabad, reported that the mosque was "jam-packed with worshippers" when the attack took place. "The explosion is said to have been carried out by a suicide bomber. The entire compound is said to have collapsed, many people are said to be buried under the rubble. According to some estimates, up to 100 people have been wounded, and the number of dead could rise given ... that the structure itself is said to have caved in and rescue efforts are still underway," he reported. Haji Zarmeen, a witness who had removed 12 bodies from the rublle, told the Reuters news agency that there were still bodies trapped in the wreckage. Saleem Khan, 21, said that people panicked in an atmosphere of smoke, cries and blood immediately after the blast. He said that several people ran over when he fell to the ground after being wounded. "Whoever did it in the holy month of Ramadan cannot be a Muslim," he said from a hospital bed in the main northwest city of Peshawar. "It is the cruelest thing any Muslim would do." Television footage from the scene showed prayer caps, shoes and green prayer mats scattered across a blood-spattered floor. Ceiling fans were twisted and the walls of the mosque blackened. No group has claimed immediate responsibility for the attack. "This is indeed a deadly attack, given the fact that it is Ramadan and the Friday prayers draw even bigger crowds. They will of course be questions as to who could have carried out the attack. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan factions have said recently that they do not carry out attacks on mosques, so it will be interesting to see if there is any claim of responsibility at all," Hyder said. Khyber agency is strategically located along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, and is also adjacent to Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber-Pakthunkhwa province.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies.

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