The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for Peshawar’s deadly explosion that left 61 people dead and about 157 others injured, according to Peshawar Police Chief Mohammad Aijaz Khan.
Two officials from the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), stated that the blast was “revenge” for the death of TTP militant Khalid Khorasani last year.
In a statement to CNN, Khan asserted that the incident inside the Police Lines Mosque was “probably a suicide attack,” echoing Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“The brutal killing of Muslims prostrating before Allah is against the teachings of the Quran,” Sharif said, adding that “targeting the House of Allah is proof that the attackers have nothing to do with Islam.”
“Terrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan,” the prime minister continued. “Those who fight against Pakistan will be erased from the page.”
Following the powerful explosion, the prime minister went to Peshawar and visited Lady Reading Hospital to meet those injured, according to his office.
“Just returned from Peshawar. 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,” Sharif posted on Twitter.
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