In a major development, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police successfully identified the three suspects involved in the recent Peshawar mosque blast. Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid revealed the news in a video message.
Earlier, a harrowing suicide bomb attack took place in Peshawar’s mosque during the Friday prayers. Moreover, the death toll has risen to 63 after six more of the injured succumbed to their injuries.
Needless to say, the brutal incident sparked outrage in Pakistan. Even the international community condemned the attack. Since then, authorities in Pakistan have sprung into action and are taking proactive measures.
Read more: Pakistan in anger over Peshawar suicide attack
Sheikh Rashid said that the police and investigation agencies have reached close to the suspects. As a result, the agencies will make arrests in the next two to three days.
اسلام آباد :5 مارچ 2022
وفاقی وزیر داخلہ شیخ رشید احمد کا ملکی و سیاسی صورتحال پر ویڈیو پیغام جاری@ImranKhanPTI @PakPMO
( ایڈمن پوسٹ) pic.twitter.com/miaqQlDMex— Sheikh Rashid Ahmed (@ShkhRasheed) March 5, 2022
The Counter-Terrorism Department has registered a case related to the suicide blast inside the Peshawar mosque. The FIR has been lodged under terrorism clauses. Furthermore, the police released disturbing CCTV footage of Friday’s attack showing a man dressed in a traditional shalwar kameez enter the mosque.
He then detonated a suicide vest packed with ball bearings that ripped through the building, crowded with people just moments before Friday prayers were due to start. According to reports, the investigators are checking the biometric data of people who had recently entered Pakistan from Afghanistan.
Important to note, Sheikh Rashid had earlier hinted at the involvement of forces trying to destabilize the country and vowed to foil their nefarious designs.
ISIS-K takes responsibility for Peshawar attack
The Islamic State’s regional affiliate, Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, claimed responsibility, according to a translation of an ISIS statement by the SITE Intelligence Group. The statement said an Afghan suicide bomber carried out the attack.
ISIS accepts responsibility for the suicide attack on a #Peshawar Imam Bargah yesterday which killed over 60 people. The blast follows a pattern of attacks in #Afghanistan carried out by ISIS especially on Friday prayers. #Peshawarblast #PeshawarunderAttack #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/42QKPbdc09
— The Pakistan Daily (@ThePakDaily) March 5, 2022
The Islamic State has claimed several previous attacks in Pakistan but the mosque bombing was the biggest and deadliest yet.
Read more: ‘Daesh/ISIS militant presence in Afghanistan a threat to regional security’: SCO