Death toll from Pakistan's mosque suicide blast rises to 88

The death toll from a suicide bomb blast that hit a mosque on Monday in Pakistan's northwest provincial capital of Peshawar rose to 88, an official told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar Shafiullah Khan said that the death toll rose after some injured succumbed to their injuries and more bodies were recovered from the debris of the mosque which collapsed following the blast.

The official added that 150 people were injured in the attack, of which 67 were still under treatment in different hospitals while the remaining have been discharged after medical treatment.

The deputy commissioner said that the death toll might rise further because around 10 people are still in critical condition, and some are still buried under the debris.

On Monday, Muhammad Ijaz Khan, a capital city police officer of Peshawar in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told Xinhua that around 300 people were praying in the mosque of the Police Lines area of the city when the blast happened.

The Police Lines is located in Peshawar's high-security zone where many law enforcement agencies, including Frontier Corps, the counter-terrorism department of police, are situated.

Condemnation from all walks of life poured in after the attack, with a call to take decisive measures against terrorists.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attack, expressed deep grief over the martyrdom of the worshippers, and termed the attacker as the enemy of humanity.

The Chinese Embassy in Islamabad also strongly condemned the attack and said, "We feel deeply grieved and pay our deepest condolences to the families of victims and injured of the tragedy."

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is observing a day of mourning on Tuesday with the national flag hoisting at half-mast across the province.

xinhua