At least 28 people were killed and 150 others injured in a massive explosion today at a temple in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.
Police said the explosion happened at a time when many people gathered to pray at the temple. Part of the building has collapsed and many people may be trapped inside. A hospital representative in the city of Peshawar said many people were in critical condition.
Police, security and rescue forces were mobilized to the scene to assist in bringing the injured to the hospital.
Pakistan’s northwest has long been a security hotspot, in which armed groups have raged despite government efforts to restore order. In March 2022, a suicide bomber belonging to the terrorist organization “Islamic State” (IS) attacked a mosque in Peshawar, killing 64 people, causing the attack. Deadliest terrorism in Pakistan since 2018.
This is also the area where an offshoot of the Afghan Taliban operates as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The city of Peshawar was also the site of a 2014 massacre that left 150 people dead when the TTP attacked a school for the children of Pakistani army soldiers, most of the victims were students of the school.