Peshawar blast : Death toll rises to 88,over 100 injured

The death toll of the yesterday’s deadliest suicide attack in Police Lines mosque mounted to 88 as rescuers retrieved some 17 more bodies from the debris in the ongoing rescue operation that entered its final phase, said police on Tuesday.

According to police and rescuers, over hundred people were injured and going through treatment while the authorities were using heavy machinery for cutting the debris of the mosque’s collapsed building to complete the rescue operation.

The national flag was being hoisted half-mast in the province after the announcement of one day official mourning to express solidarity with the blast victims and their families.

It merits a mention here that reportedly a suicide bomber had blown himself up during Zuhar prayers yesterday at a time when around 300 to 400 worshipers had gathered to offer prayer in Malik Saad Police Lines mosque.

According to the rescuers their fresh squad had arrived early morning to replace those who performed duty the whole night bearing biting cold weather.

An explosion in a mosque killed at 19 worshippers and wounded dozens more in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday, a hospital official said, and many of the casualties were police officers who had gathered for daily prayers.

The mosque was located close to a police housing block, and there were some 260 people inside when the blast occurred, according to police.

"It happened during prayers. A two-storey building has collapsed," an eyewitness told local news channel Geo TV, saying he was just outside the mosque when explosion happened.

"We received 19 dead and over 90 injured from the Peshawar Police Lines blast," said Mohammad Asim, a spokesman for the city's Lady Reading Hospital, referring to the neighborhood. "Many others are in critical condition.”

According to police there were more casualties buried beneath the rubble.

Footage from government broadcaster PTV showed police and residents scrambling to remove the debrise and carrying wounded people on their shoulders.

"A portion of the building had collapsed and several people are believed to be under it," police official Sikandar Khan said.