A suicide bomber attacked a mosque attended by pro-government tribesmen during Friday prayers. At least 50 worshipers were killed.
CS Monitor reported:
In one of Pakistan’s deadliest attacks in recent years, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a packed mosque Friday, killing at least 50 worshipers and injuring more than 100 in Pakistan’s tribal belt of Khyber.
Around 400 tribesmen were at the main Madina Mosque in Jamrod performing Friday prayers when the bomber detonated his bomb. The explosion caused the roof of the mosque to collapse, burying many of the worshipers.
“I was offering prayers when the blast hit us. I fell unconscious and when regained consciousness I could only see clouds of smoke, dead and injured around me,” says Hashmat Ullah Kooki Khel, a witness the Monitor reached by phone.
Most of the victims belong to THE Kookikhel tribe that is largely considered to pro-government and anti-Taliban. The Pakistani Taliban has not claimed responsibility but officials have blamed the militants for the bombing.
