PESHAWAR: Police were among 61 people killed and 150 wounded in a blast at a mosque inside a highly sensitive Pakistan police headquarters on Monday (Jan 30), prompting the government to put the country on high alert.
The attack happened during afternoon worship in the provincial capital of Peshawar, close to former tribal areas along the Afghan border where militancy has been steadily rising.
A frantic rescue mission was underway at the mosque, which had an entire wall and some of its roof blown out.
“Many policemen are buried under the rubble,” said Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan, who estimated between 300 and 400 officers usually attended prayers at the mosque.
“Efforts are being made to get them out safely,” he added.
Bloodied survivors emerged limping from the wreckage, while bodies were ferried away in ambulances.
“It’s an emergency situation,” Muhammad Asim Khan, a spokesman for the main hospital in Peshawar, told AFP.
The death toll continued to rise as more bodies were pulled from the debris, rising to 61 killed with more than 150 wounded.
As darkness fell, at least four men were still trapped in the wreckage, visible through cracks in the concrete.
“We have given them oxygen so that they don’t have problems in breathing,” said Bilal Ahmad Faizi, a spokesperson for the rescue organisation 1122.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, amid a worsening security situation in the country.