93 killed, 157 wounded, as suicide blast rips through Pakistan police mosque

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A suicide bomber struck Monday inside a mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing multiple people and wounding scores of worshippers. (AP)
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People and rescue workers gather to look for survivors under a collapsed roof, after a suicide blast in a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan January 30, 2023. (Reuters)
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Updated 31 January 2023

93 killed, 157 wounded, as suicide blast rips through Pakistan police mosque

  • A commander for the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack but a spokesperson later distanced the group from the bombing
  • Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who visited the wounded in Peshawar, and vowed “stern action” against those behind the terror attack

PESHAWAR: The death toll in the suicide bombing in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar rose to 93 while at least 157 people were injured, several of them critically, a hospital spokesperson said on Tuesday.

A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a crowded mosque in a highly fortified security compound in Pakistan on Monday, the latest in a string of attacks targeting police.

Police said the attacker appeared to have passed through several barricades manned by security forces to get into the Red Zone compound that houses police and counter-terrorism offices in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

“It was a suicide bombing,” Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan said.

Authorities said the bomber detonated the explosives at the moment hundreds of people lined up to pray. “We have found traces of explosives,” Khan said.

A security lapse had clearly occurred as the bomber had slipped through the most secure area of the compound, he said.

 

 

An inquiry was under way into how the attacker breached such an elite security cordon and whether there was any inside help.

Khan said the mosque hall was packed with up to 400 worshippers, and that most of the dead were police officers.

Peshawar district administrator Riaz Mehsud told Arab News: “I think 90 percent of the casualties are police personnel because most of those offering prayers in the mosque were policemen.”

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the bomber was standing in the first row of worshippers. Ahmad Khan, a police constable who was inside the mosque when the bomb went off, said the roof collapsed after the explosion. “It was the time for Zuhr prayers,” Khan said. “I was in the second row among worshippers when the blast took place. The roof of the mosque collapsed with many worshippers trapped but I managed to come out with small injuries.”

Another injured police officer, Mushtaq Khan, said: “We couldn’t figure out what happened as the bang was deafening. It threw me out of the veranda. The walls and roof fell on me. Thanks to God, he saved me.”

Witnesses described chaotic scenes as the police and rescuers scrambled to rush the wounded to hospitals.The explosion brought down the upper storey of the mosque, trapping dozens of worshippers in the rubble. Live TV footage showed rescuers cutting through the collapsed rooftop to make their way down and tend to victims caught in the wreckage. “We can’t say how many are still under it,” said provincial governor Haji Ghulam Ali.

Taliban commander claims attack

Sarbakaf Mohmand, a commander for the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on Twitter.

But hours later, TTP spokesperson Mohammad Khurasani distanced the group from the bombing, saying it was not its policy to target mosques, seminaries and religious places, adding that those taking part in such acts could face punitive action under TTP’s policy. His statement did not address why a TTP commander had claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the Pakistani Taliban have a strong presence, and the city has been the scene of frequent militant attacks. 

Attacks have been on the rise since last November when the group called off a ceasefire signed with the government in May. Monday’s attack was the worst in Peshawar since March 2022 when a Daesh suicide bombing killed at least 58 people in a mosque during Friday prayers.

'Unimaginable'

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said: “The sheer scale of the human tragedy is unimaginable. This is no less than an attack on Pakistan. The nation is overwhelmed by a deep sense of grief. I have no doubt terrorism is our foremost national security challenge.”
The US embassy in Pakistan expressed “deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the horrific attack.”

Sharif urged people, especially followers of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz ruling party, to donate blood to those injured in the attack.

“Reach Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, and contribute to saving precious human lives,” he tweeted.

"Terrorists are making a sinister attempt to create an atmosphere of fear and terror by attacking the institutions responsible for the defense of Pakistan, which will be thwarted by the strength of the unity of the state and the people," the PM was quoted as saying in a statement from Peshawar. 

"Pakistan has made great sacrifices against terrorism, we will not let the sacrifices of martyrs go in vain," the PM added, promising that the capacity and efficiency of anti-terrorist institutions and police would be enhanced. 

“It was the time for Zuhr (afternoon) prayers,” police constable Ahmad Khan. “I was in the second row among worshippers when the blast took place. The roof of the mosque collapsed with many worshippers trapped but I managed to come out with small injuries.”




Security officials and rescue workers gather at the site of Monday’s bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan. The attack was the worst in Peshawar since March 2022. (AP)

Many were injured when the roof came down, according to Zafar Khan, a police officer, and rescuers had to remove mounds of debris to reach worshippers still trapped under the rubble.

Meena Gul, who was in the mosque when the bomb went off, said he doesn’t know how he survived unhurt. The 38-year-old police officer said he heard cries and screams after the blast.

Police official Siddique Khan the bomber blew himself up while among the worshippers.

Senior police and government officials attended the funerals of 30 police officers and arrangements to bury the rest were being made. Coffins were wrapped in the Pakistani flag their bodies were later handed over to relatives for burials.

 

Surge in attacks

Pakistan, which is mostly Sunni Muslim, has seen a surge in militant attacks since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended their cease-fire with government forces.

Earlier this month, the Pakistani Taliban claimed one of its members shot and killed two intelligence officers, including the director of the counterterrorism wing of the country’s military-based spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence. Security officials said Monday the gunman was traced and killed in a shootout in the northwest near the Afghan border.

The TTP is separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban. The TTP has waged an insurgency in Pakistan in the past 15 years, seeking stricter enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of its members in government custody and a reduction in the Pakistani military presence in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province it has long used as its base.

 

 

The Afghan Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as US and NATO troops pulled out of the country after 20 years of war.

The Pakistani government’s truce with the TTP ended as the country was still contending with unprecedented flooding that killed 1,739 people, destroyed more than 2 million homes, and at one point submerged as much as a third of the country.022.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was “saddened to learn that numerous people lost their lives and many others were injured by an explosion at a mosque in Peshawar” and condemned attacks on worshippers as contrary to the teachings of Islam.

Worldwide condemnations

Condemnations also came from the Saudi Embassy in Islamabad, as well as the US Embassy, adding that “The United States stands with Pakistan in condemning all forms of terrorism.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the bombing “particularly abhorrent” for targeting a place of worship, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Cash-strapped Pakistan faces a severe economic crisis and is seeking a crucial installment of $1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund — part of its $6 billion bailout package — to avoid default. Talks with the IMF on reviving the bailout have stalled in the past months.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called the bombing a “terrorist suicide attack.” He tweeted: “My prayers & condolences go to victims families. It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering & properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism.”

Sharif’s government came to power in April after Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Khan has since campaigned for early elections, claiming his ouster was illegal and part of a plot backed by the United States. Washington and Sharif dismiss Khan’s claims.

(With AP)


Protesters greet Netanyahu as he meets UK leader in London

Updated 24 March 2023

Protesters greet Netanyahu as he meets UK leader in London

  • Sunak also raised Netanyahu's controversial judicial reforms
  • Some women protesting outside Downing Street wore red robes and white caps inspired by “The Handmaid's Tale,” a novel and TV series set in a dystopian future

LONDON: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held talks with Benjamin Netanyahu in London on Friday as protesters shouting “Shame!” In Hebrew demonstrated against the Israeli leader’s right-wing policies and his plans to overhaul the country’s judiciary.
Netanyahu had to pass by hundreds of protesters waving Israeli flags and waving signs calling for the defense of Israeli democracy as he arrived at 10 Downing St. for talks that focused on the war in Ukraine and concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.
Sunak also raised Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reforms, which have sparked mass protests in Israel and beyond. One placard in London read: “We are Israelis and Jews living in the UK demonstrating against Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is leading a judicial coup turning Israel into a dictatorship.”
Some women protesting outside Downing Street wore red robes and white caps inspired by “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a novel and TV series set in a dystopian future. Similarly clad demonstrators have become fixtures of the mass protests roiling Israel.
Sunak “stressed the importance of upholding the democratic values that underpin our relationship, including in the proposed judicial reforms in Israel,” the British leader’s office said in an official readout of the meeting.
Netanyahu’s proposals would give his government more control over judicial appointments, weaken the Supreme Court by limiting judicial review of legislation and allow Parliament to overturn court decisions with a simple majority vote.
He arrived in London as protesters in Israel blocked roads and clashed with police. The planned judicial system overhaul have ignited the biggest protests in the country’s history amid rare dissent from people throughout Israeli society, including military reservists, navy veterans, high-tech businesspeople and former officials.
Netanyahu’s right-wing government has also been criticized for its hard-line policy toward Palestinians, including recent comments by a government minister who denied the existence of the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination.
Sunak “reiterated our support for two-state solution,” and Britain’s view that Israel’s West Bank settlements are illegal and ”contrary to the cause of peace,” spokesman Jamie Davies said.
“Israel is a vital international partner for the United Kingdom, and the prime minister was visiting London, and this was an important opportunity to talk about issues that matter to both countries, whether that’s the threat of Iran, Russia, new trade and investment … as well as peace and stability in the Middle East,” Davies said.
Netanyahu’s office said the two leaders discussed the rapidly advancing nuclear program of Israel’s archenemy, Iran, as well as “deepening strategic cooperation in security, intelligence and economic fields.”
As thousands of people took to the streets across Israel on Thursday, Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, defiantly pledged to proceed with the judicial overhaul, hours after his coalition passed a law making it harder to remove him from office.
Rights groups and Palestinians say Israel’s democratic ideals have long been tarnished by the country’s 55-year, open-ended occupation of lands the Palestinians seek for an independent state and the treatment of Palestinian Israeli citizens, who face discrimination in many spheres.
Netanyahu pushed back his departure to Britain until 4 a.m. Friday to deal with the political crisis.


Several hurt after man drives into pedestrians at German airport garage

Updated 24 March 2023

Several hurt after man drives into pedestrians at German airport garage

  • Injuries were considered mostly minor

BERLIN: A motorist drove into several pedestrians Friday in a parking garage at Cologne-Bonn Airport in western Germany and injured some of them slightly, police said.
A man allegedly drove straight at people inside the garage, but most were able to avoid him, German news agency dpa reported.
No one’s life was in danger, police said, and the injuries were considered mostly minor. The man also drove into several cars, dpa said.
The 57-year-old driver was detained and taken to the hospital. Police said there were indications he had mental health issues.
Two police officers also received slight injuries when the suspect alleged resisted his detention.


Russia says use of depleted uranium shells in Ukraine would harm the population

Updated 24 March 2023

Russia says use of depleted uranium shells in Ukraine would harm the population

  • Russia reacted furiously to plans outlined by Britain earlier this week to send shells containing depleted uranium to Ukraine

MOSCOW: Russia’s defense ministry said on Friday that the use of depleted uranium shells in Ukraine would harm Ukrainian troops, the wider population and negatively affect the country’s agriculture sector for decades or even centuries.
Russia has reacted furiously to plans outlined by Britain earlier this week to send shells containing depleted uranium to Ukraine.
London says they are a conventional form of ammunition, but President Vladimir Putin said the move showed NATO members were sending weapons with a “nuclear component” to Kyiv.
“The West is well aware of the negative consequences of using depleted uranium ammunition,” Igor Kirillov, head of the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces of Russia’s defense ministry said in a statement on Friday.
He said data on the use of depleted uranium by the United States and is allies in the Balkans and Iraq showed serious and lasting negative impacts on local populations and the environment.
Ukraine’s agricultural industry could suffer “for decades, if not centuries, into the future,” he said.
Critics of the use of depleted uranium, such as the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons, say the dust created by such weapons can be breathed in while munitions which miss their target can poison groundwater and soil.
Countries such as the United States and Britain say depleted uranium is a good tool for destroying a modern tank. Britain says in guidance that inhaling enough depleted uranium dust to cause injury would be difficult.
Russia’s defense ministry on Friday disputed those claims and said the use of depleted uranium shells, compared to Tungsten-based ammunition, “has no significant advantage” on the battlefield.
The Royal Society said in a report in 2002 that the risks to the kidney and other organs from the use of depleted uranium munitions are very low for most soldiers in the battlefield and for those living in the conflict area.
Russia is also known to produce uranium weapons along with around 20 other countries, according to the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons.


Kremlin: Important to identify object found next to Nord Stream pipeline

Updated 24 March 2023

Kremlin: Important to identify object found next to Nord Stream pipeline

  • Spokesperson: Ongoing investigation into blasts that struck the pipelines last September must be conducted with full transparency

MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Friday said it was important to identify an object discovered next to one of the Nord Stream pipelines, and said the ongoing investigation into blasts that struck the pipelines last September must be conducted with full transparency.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters it was a positive sign that Denmark had invited the Russian-controlled operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to help salvage an unidentified object found close to the Baltic Sea pipelines.
“It’s certainly positive news when the owner of the pipeline is invited to take part in very important phases of the investigation,” Peskov said.
Last week, Danish authorities said a tubular object, protruding around 40 cm (16 inches) from the seabed and 10 cm in diameter, had been found during an inspection of the last remaining intact Nord Stream pipeline by its operator, Nord Stream 2 AG.
“It is critically important to determine what kind of object it is, whether it is related to this terrorist act — apparently it is — and to continue this investigation. And this investigation must be transparent,” Peskov added.
Three of the four pipelines of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas links were hit in a still-unexplained explosion last September.
Russia has, without evidence, blamed Britain and the United States for the blasts, while European investigators have not said who they believe was responsible.


Myanmar arrests about 150 Rohingya fleeing to Malaysia

Updated 24 March 2023

Myanmar arrests about 150 Rohingya fleeing to Malaysia

  • Group of men, women and children was arrested in Thanbyuzayat township in southern Myanmar
  • Myanmar is facing genocide accusations at the United Nation’s top court following the mass exodus

YANGON: Myanmar authorities have arrested around 150 Rohingya suspected of trying to flee to Malaysia, an official said on Friday.
The group of men, women and children was arrested in Thanbyuzayat township in southern Myanmar, the official said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The official did not specify why the group had been arrested, but the Muslim minority faces restrictions on traveling within Myanmar, where rights groups say they live in apartheid-like conditions.
“They were hiding nearby in hilly forest between two villages... We started arresting them since late last night after we got a tip-off,” the security source said.
According to initial reports, the group had traveled by boat from western Rakhine state and planned to travel on to Thailand and then Malaysia by road, the official said.
A number of non-Rohingya suspected of trafficking the group were also arrested, and police were looking for around 30 more people, according to the source.
A military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017 sent hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing into neighboring Bangladesh with harrowing stories of murder, rape and arson.
Myanmar is facing genocide accusations at the United Nation’s top court following the mass exodus.
Widely viewed in Myanmar as interlopers from Bangladesh, Rohingya are denied citizenship — along with access to health care and education — and require permission to travel.
The arrests come days after the junta said it would begin welcoming back members of the minority living in Bangladesh as soon as next month in a pilot repatriation program.
The plan would see Myanmar “repatriate about 1,500 displaced persons,” state media on Friday quoted a senior border affairs official as saying.
The border official did not give a specific timetable and added Myanmar had “not received any response yet” to the plan.
The returning Rohingya would be placed in a “transit camp for a short period” before being resettled in 15 villages, the official said.
“For their safety and security, we have police stations near the 15 villages,” it added.
Thousands of Rohingya risk their lives each year making perilous journeys from camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar to reach Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia.
Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who has dismissed the Rohingya identity as “imaginary,” was head of the armed forces during the 2017 crackdown.

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