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| 50 killed in umpteenth suicide strike in Pak mosque | | | Agencies
ISLAMABAD, Mar 27 :At least 50 persons were killed when a suicide bomber struck a mosque packed with worshippers for Friday prayers in Pakistan’s restive north-west Khyber tribal region today and the two-storey shrine also collapsed in the blast.
In one of the worst terror strikes in the country, the mosque situated in Jamrud area of Khyber tribal agency was targeted leaving at least 100 persons injured. About 300 persons were reported to be inside the mosque at the time of the attack.
Assistant political agent Fida Bangash of Khyber Agency told TV channels that at least 50 people were killed after a suicide bomber blew himself up. Among the dead were 15 members of the local political administration and the Khasadar force.
Officials said the toll could rise since some victims were believed to be buried in the rubble.
About 30 personnel from the local Khasadar militia were in the mosque, which caved in after the blast, and officials said they could have been the target of the attack.
Tariq Hayat, the political agent of Khyber Agency, said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber. Other officials said the attacker had rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the mosque, which is located near a Khasadar check post on the Pakistan-Afghanistan highway.
No group claimed responsibility for the strike.
Some security personnel were also among those who persished in the suicide attack.
People dug through the debris with their bare hands to pull out the injured and dead.
Witnesses said some of the bodies were beyond recognition. Many of the injured were in a serious condition.
Security forces sealed the strategic Pakistan-Afghanistan highway soon after the blast. The injured were taken to hospitals in Jamrud and Peshawar.
Jamrud lies in the Khyber region near the Afghan border where militants have intensified attacks on trucks carrying supplies to NATO and US Forces in Afghanistan.
The area is also bedevilled by bloody feuds among various tribal and militant factions.
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