Death toll in Mohmand Agency suicide attack rises to 28  

GHALLANAI: The death toll in the suicide attack at a mosque in Mohmand Agency has climbed to 28 as three more injured succumbed to their wounds.

At least 25 worshippers were killed and 35 others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber attacked the Friday prayers at a mosque in the Anbar Tehsil of Mohmand Agency.

Security agencies have launched search operation in Batt Meena and its adjoining areas. Curfew has been imposed in the area for indefinite period.

The Jamaatul Ahrar, a splinter faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack and said the suicide bombing was carried out to target the members of the pro-government tribal Lashkar raised by the local people to fight the militants.

Eyewitnesses said a portion of the mosque and its verandah collapsed under the impact of the blast. It fell on the worshippers and caused several deaths. Some residents and relatives of the slain people said that most of the injured succumbed to their injuries when they were being taken to hospital in Bajaur Agency.

Following the suicide bombing on Friday, the security forces intensified checking at the entry and exit routes to Mohmand Agency.

Medical Superintendent of Agency Headquarters Hospital Khar, Bajaur Agency Dr Khan Saeed told reporters that the political administration declared a state of emergency at the hospital after they were informed by the officials in Mohmand Agency about the suicide bombing at the mosque.

The Jamaatul Ahrar is based in Afghanistan and is headed by Omar Khalid Khurasani, whose real name is Abdul Wali and belongs to Mohmand Agency. He along with his men fled Mohmand Agency and found refuge in Afghanistan after the government launched a military offensive against them in 2008.