PESHAWAR, Jan 30 (APP):At least 17 worshippers, including policemen, were killed and over 60 injured in a massive blast, apparently a suicide attack, here at the Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines mosque on Monday.
Seventeen dead bodies and over 60 injured were brought to the Lady Reading Hospital, where the condition of 13 wounded was critical, the police and LRH spokesmen confirmed.
The police said the blast occurred in the front row of the worshipers offering the Zuhar (afternoon) prayer and it was so powerful that the front portion of the mosque was razed to the ground.
The people in a large number thronged the hospital to inquire about the health of their loved ones and donate blood. The
LRH spokesman, however, urged the families to avoid rushing into the hospital wards so that quick treatment should be provided to the injured.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department imposed emergency in all three major hospitals of Peshawar.
KP Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan, meanwhile, strongly condemned the blast and directed the hospital administrations to provide the best treatment to the victims. He also prayed for eternal peace to the martyred and fortitude for their families, besides early recovery of the injured.