ISLAMABAD: The death toll in the suicide bomb attack on a Peshawar mosque a day earlier rose to 63 after six more of the injured succumbed to their injuries, confirmed a spokesperson of the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) on Saturday.
A day earlier, at least 57 worshipers had lost their lives, while around 200 suffered injuries in the suicide bomb attack during Friday prayers at a mosque in Qissa Khwani bazaar in the Kocha Risaldar area of Peshawar.
In a statement, the spokesperson of the LRH said that 57 dead bodies were brought to the hospital yesterday.
“37 injured are still under treatment at the hospital,” he said, adding that five of them are in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Suspects identified, says Sheikh Rashid
In a major development, all the three suspects involved in the suicide blast inside the mosque in Peshawar have been identified by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police and the investigation agencies, revealed Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid today.
In a video message shared on his Twitter handle, Sheikh Rashid said that the police and investigation agencies are close to identifying the suspects and hoped that they would be arrested in the next two to three days.
The interior minister had earlier hinted at the involvement of foreign forces trying to destabilise the country and vowed to foil their nefarious designs.
In the video statement, the minister also urged the Opposition not to create confusion and misunderstanding among the people and warned, “floods, earthquakes or pandemics do not destroy the country but rumours and anarchy harms a state.”
The Counter-Terrorism Department has registered a case related to the suicide blast inside the Peshawar mosque. The FIR has been lodged under terrorism clauses.
Police also released CCTV footage of Friday's attack showing a man dressed in a traditional shalwar kameez shooting two policemen as he entered the mosque.
He then detonated a suicide vest packed with ball bearings that ripped through the building, crowded with people just moments before Friday prayers were due to start.
According to reports, the investigators are checking the biometric data of people who had recently entered Pakistan from Afghanistan.
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