Pakistani Taliban Claim Mosque Bombing That Killed Dozens of Cops

At least 59 people have been killed and about 160 injured after a bomb ripped through a mosque in a high security neighborhood in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. The victims include 27 police officers and the mosque’s imam. 

Sarbakaf Mohmand, a commander associated with the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack, adding that it was part of a series of attacks to avenge the killing of their commander in Afghanistan in August 2022. Hours later the Pakistani Taliban’s media wing released a statement denying responsibility for the bombing, in what appeared to be an attempt to distance themselves from the commanders who claimed the attack.

The Afghan Taliban condemned the mosque bombing, calling it a “heinous terrorist attack,” saying that “attacks on mosques and worshipers have no place in the holy religion of Islam.” 

The Pakistani Taliban, officially the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the Afghan Taliban are separate entities but there are close historic links between the groups. Pakistan has diplomatic relations with the Afghan Taliban, but has outlawed the Pakistani Taliban and consider them an enemy of the state. Both the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani Taliban share similar religious and political ideologies.

Eyewitnesses told local media that the bomb exploded just as afternoon prayers began. Windows of nearby buildings shattered, a cloud of black smoke rose to the sky, and then a part of the roof of the mosque collapsed. Efforts to rescue those trapped under the rubble continued into the night.

The mosque is located in Peshawar’s Police Lines area – a high-security zone with the city’s police headquarters, several government buildings, including intelligence and counter-terrorism bureaus. Local media estimated that between 300 to 400 police personnel were present in the area at the time of the blast. 

It is unclear how the explosives or attacker was able to penetrate through the high-security zone unnoticed. The city’s police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan, speaking with local media, said it was apparent that a security lapse had occurred.

Pakistan has seen a surge in militant attacks since November, after a ceasefire between the Pakistani government and the TTP broke down. Security in Peshawar was tightened after an attack on a police compound on January 14, killing a senior police officer and two guards. And on January 22, a police vehicle narrowly escaped an attack in the city’s Badaber Area.

“This is yet another carnage from the proxy terrorism that Pakistan is facing at the hands of TTP who are currently being hosted by the Afghan Taliban,” Pakistani defense analyst Imitiaz Gul told VICE World News. “This incident is likely to prompt Pakistani demands for some conclusive crackdown against TTP, which has publicly been owning up terror activities in Pakistan.”

The Pakistani Taliban has been waging an insurgency in Pakistan for over 15 years and carried out at least 150 attacks in 2022 alone. They want stricter adherence to Islamic laws, release of detained TTP members, and reduced military presence in Pakistan’s northwestern province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Update: This story was updated at 4:09 pm EST to include the Pakistani Taliban's media wing statement.