Rawalpindi, Dec 4 (Inditop.com) At least 26 people were killed in two simultaneous explosions in a mosque where hundreds of people, including Pakistani Army personnel, had gathered for Friday prayers. The explosions in this Pakistani garrison city were followed by gunfire, officials said.
Suicide bombers blew themselves up in the Parade Lane mosque, frequented by army personnel, near the Pakistan Army headquarters that had been the target of heavily-armed Taliban guerrillas Oct 10.
Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Athar Abbas said: “There are so far 26 confirmed deaths while 20 people are wounded. The attacks were carried out by more than two attackers and all of them have been killed.”
Other officials, however, indicated a higher death toll. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said at least 30 people had died, while an official at the Rescue 1122 emergency service said they had moved 37 bodies and 51 injured to the hospitals.
Ishtiaq, an eyewitness and driver of an army brigadier, said two back-to-back blasts rocked the mosque as the prayers concluded.
“The brigadier and his son had entered the mosque while I was being searched by the guards when I heard the first blast and soon after that a second one,” DPA quoted Ishtiaq as saying.
Army helicopters flew overhead and security personnel took up positions in the area. Security was stepped up in a sprawling walled compound near the mosque that also houses residential blocks for servicemen and their families.
According to some eyewitnesses, the terrorists threw hand grenades inside the Parade Line mosque while others said that two suicide bombers were present inside the mosque and blew themselves as soon as the Friday prayers were over.
Pakistan has been struck by a series of terror attacks since Oct 5, when the latest wave of violence was unleashed by the Taliban which is battling the army in the rugged terrain of South Waziristan.
Over 250 people have been killed in a spate of terror attacks in various parts of the country since Oct 5.
