Pakistan: Over 80 Dead In Peshawar Mosque Blast, TTP Faction Calls It 'Revenge'

Over 80 people were killed and 150 were injured in a blast at a mosque in the Police lines area of Pakistan’s Peshawar.

Mohammad Ijaz Khan, Peshawar Capital City Police Officer, has confirmed that the initial evidence points to the blast being a suicide attack, reported Geo News.

However, the rescue operation is still going on and the rescue authorities are searching for people in the rubble.

Reports indicate that some victims might still be stuck in the debris of the roof which collapsed due to the blast.

The mosque lies in a highly sensitive zone and is surrounded by the Headquarters (HQ) of the Counter Terrorism Department and the office of the Deputy Inspector General (Telecommunications).

The attack could be the work of a breakaway faction of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has been fighting the Pakistan Army. 

However, TTP has denied any links to the attack in Peshawar. While denying the attack, the spokesperson of the outfit, Muhammad Khurasani, said, “TTP guidelines strictly prohibit attacks on mosques and public places''.

But a large and powerful faction of the TTP, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar,  has claimed responsibility for the attack saying it was an act of revenge for the killing of Khalid Omar Khorasani, one of the founding members of TTP killed in Afghanistan last year.

The TTP has escalated its attacks since the breakdown of negotiations with the Pakistan Army in November, focusing on areas near Afghanistan. Baloch fighters have increased their operations and are rumored to have joined forces with the TTP.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir have visited Peshawar since the attack and an emergency meeting was called to discuss the “law and order situation”.