Peshawar mosque bombing toll rises to 68

PESHAWAR: The death toll from the Koocha Risaldar mosque suicide bombing in Qissa Khwani rose to 68 as another person who had sustained head injuries in the terror act lost the battle for life at the hospital here on Sunday.

The firing and suicide bombing at the main mosque, belonging to the Shia community in the heart of the city, had claimed 67 lives and left almost 200 others injured. Some of the injured were still undergoing treatment at the hospitals.

The man who succumbed to injuries at the Lady Reading Hospital on Sunday was identified as Ghazanfar Abbas Baloch. It was learnt that the deceased had retired recently from the Pakistan Air Force as a Chief Warrant Officer.

His funeral prayer was offered at the Hussania Hall on Saddar Road. The body was transported to his native town of Dera Ismail Khan where he was laid to rest at his family graveyard. He is survived by a widow, three children including two sons and a daughter.