Bomber kills 53 at Jamrud mosque
Sunday, 21 August 2011
Bomber kills 53 at Jamrud mosque:
KHYBER AGENCY - At least 55 tribesmen including children were killed and more than 108 others got injured in a suicide blast during Friday prayer inside a mosque here at tehsil Jamrud.
Eyewitnesses said that some faithful were offering prayers and some were leaving Madukhel Mosque, situated in Gundai area of tehsil Jamrud, Khyber Agency, when a suicide bomber, who was stated to be in his teen age, blew himself up, killing 55 people and injuring more than 80 others. It was a severe blast as the roof of the mosque caved in. The locals said that mosque was attended by more than 400 believers at Friday prayers. “It was an ear-splitting. We fall on ground because it banged huge”. The intensity of the blast could be imagined from the fact that the mosque hall was covered with human lambs and blood,” said the locals.
They said that windows and doors of the mosque shattered and cracks developed in walls of the mosque. A number of copies of the Holy Quran were also martyred in the blast, they added. “We were offering prayers after Jumma prayer when a 15 to 16-year-old boy, dressed in black, entered the mosque hall and blew himself up,” an eyewitness Sadiq told this correspondent. One of the eyewitnesses said that he was offering prayer in the veranda of the mosque while the suicide bomber was present in fourth row among other worshippers.
Some of the deceased were identified as Kashif, Haji Gulab, Qais, Haji Jahangir, Manzoor, Lachi Gul, Amin, Ikhtiar Shah, Javed Nadeem, Gul Khan, Arbab and Khan Asghar. The locals said that rescue work started too late. It was a huge blast so it is feared that number of casualties may go up, officials in the political administration told TheNation. It was a deadliest bombing, they added. Soon after the explosion, the security forces, personnel of the political administration and locals rushed towards the spot and started relief work, while the forces cordoned off the whole area.
Moving scenes were witnessed at blast site as people were searching their nears and dears. Blood spots on walls, stained floors and scattered dead bodies made the whole scene horrible. Some injured were calling for help. Most of the injured were shifted to Hayatabad Medical Complex and Khyber Teaching Hospital where administrations of these hospitals already declared emergency.
The death toll may rise, as hospital sources said that scores of injured were in critical condition. No one has so far claimed the responsibility of the blast but the locals said that affected tribe Madukhel had recently joined the peace jirga in Tirrah to restrict the activities of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and in armed skirmishes three TTP volunteers were killed a few days back. Therefore it could be the revenge act on the part of the TTP, the locals blamed.
Our staff reporter from Peshawar adds: Out of the 108 injured persons of Jamrud bomb blast, 59 injured persons were shifted to Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar, 42 injured persons have been admitted in Hayatabad Medical Complex while seven were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital.
In order to provide first class medical treatment to the injured, emergency has been imposed in all the main hospital of the city. Those who succumbed to their injuries in Khyber Teaching Hospital were identified as Nadeem Jehangir, Arbab, Rahimullah, Mohammad Irshad, Fayyaz, Faisal Hikmat, Samiullah, Rahim Gul, Mohammad Wali, Azim Gul, Ihsanullah and Ziarat Gul.
The injured admitted in Khyber Teaching Hospital were identified as Asghar, Samiullah, Haroon, Rasheed, Zikrullah, Nek Mohammad, Abdul Malik, Bukht Muner, Noor Zada, Shamat, Akbar Hussain, Ghulam Razi, Hakeem Khan, Anwar Javed, Nasir, Kirat, Afsar, Inayat, Abdul Rahman, Shamim, Aziz-ur-Rahman, Mohammad Sadiq, Gulab, Qaisar, Hazrat Kamal, Hazrat Umer, Gulab, Mustafa Kamal, Mohammad Naeem, Badshah Meer, Gul Zaman, Mian Jan, Naseem, Zakir, Yousaf Basir, Ahmad Jan, Fazal Hadi, Jabar, Gul Nazir, Syed Rahman, Sher Asghar, Lodak, Shahid, Mohammad Azam, Yaqoob, Baz Khan, Sohail, Fazal Hussain, Tufail Amjad, Zar Mohammad, Khan Sher, Maswood, Yarzada, Badshah Khan, Tufel Zafran, Zia-ul-Haq, Kemia Gul and Mobeen.
Meanwhile Central President of Awami National Party Asfandyar Wali Khan and Provincial President ANP Afrasiab Khattak strongly condemned the suicide attack and termed it an inhuman act of terrorism. They prayed for the early recovery of the injured person and directed party workers to donate blood to the blast victims.
KP Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain visited Hayatabad Medical Complex soon after the blast where he inquired about the health of the injured people. While talking to media persons, he said that war against militants would continue till their elimination. He said that in order to win war on terror, allied countries would have to end mistrust. He condemned the blast in strong words.
AFP add: Deputy chief of the semi-autonomous administration Khalid Mumtaz Kundi had said 117 people were also wounded in the attack.
“It was a suicide attack. The bomber was wearing about 8-10 kg of explosives and was on foot. He detonated in the main prayer hall,” he added.
Witness Gul Jamal Afridi, 46, a local truck driver told AFP that he had been thrown to the ground in the intensity of the blast.
“I saw smoke and fire. People were dying and crying for help, some were running in panic. I saw body parts and human flesh, it was horrible,” he said.
Student Saqib Ullah, 24, said he had tried to help those lying near him after the bomb went off, but found most were already dead.
“I saw my uncle lying in a pool of blood. I ran towards him and picked him up to carry on my back, but he had already died,” he said.
KHYBER AGENCY - At least 55 tribesmen including children were killed and more than 108 others got injured in a suicide blast during Friday prayer inside a mosque here at tehsil Jamrud.
Eyewitnesses said that some faithful were offering prayers and some were leaving Madukhel Mosque, situated in Gundai area of tehsil Jamrud, Khyber Agency, when a suicide bomber, who was stated to be in his teen age, blew himself up, killing 55 people and injuring more than 80 others. It was a severe blast as the roof of the mosque caved in. The locals said that mosque was attended by more than 400 believers at Friday prayers. “It was an ear-splitting. We fall on ground because it banged huge”. The intensity of the blast could be imagined from the fact that the mosque hall was covered with human lambs and blood,” said the locals.
They said that windows and doors of the mosque shattered and cracks developed in walls of the mosque. A number of copies of the Holy Quran were also martyred in the blast, they added. “We were offering prayers after Jumma prayer when a 15 to 16-year-old boy, dressed in black, entered the mosque hall and blew himself up,” an eyewitness Sadiq told this correspondent. One of the eyewitnesses said that he was offering prayer in the veranda of the mosque while the suicide bomber was present in fourth row among other worshippers.
Some of the deceased were identified as Kashif, Haji Gulab, Qais, Haji Jahangir, Manzoor, Lachi Gul, Amin, Ikhtiar Shah, Javed Nadeem, Gul Khan, Arbab and Khan Asghar. The locals said that rescue work started too late. It was a huge blast so it is feared that number of casualties may go up, officials in the political administration told TheNation. It was a deadliest bombing, they added. Soon after the explosion, the security forces, personnel of the political administration and locals rushed towards the spot and started relief work, while the forces cordoned off the whole area.
Moving scenes were witnessed at blast site as people were searching their nears and dears. Blood spots on walls, stained floors and scattered dead bodies made the whole scene horrible. Some injured were calling for help. Most of the injured were shifted to Hayatabad Medical Complex and Khyber Teaching Hospital where administrations of these hospitals already declared emergency.
The death toll may rise, as hospital sources said that scores of injured were in critical condition. No one has so far claimed the responsibility of the blast but the locals said that affected tribe Madukhel had recently joined the peace jirga in Tirrah to restrict the activities of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and in armed skirmishes three TTP volunteers were killed a few days back. Therefore it could be the revenge act on the part of the TTP, the locals blamed.
Our staff reporter from Peshawar adds: Out of the 108 injured persons of Jamrud bomb blast, 59 injured persons were shifted to Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar, 42 injured persons have been admitted in Hayatabad Medical Complex while seven were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital.
In order to provide first class medical treatment to the injured, emergency has been imposed in all the main hospital of the city. Those who succumbed to their injuries in Khyber Teaching Hospital were identified as Nadeem Jehangir, Arbab, Rahimullah, Mohammad Irshad, Fayyaz, Faisal Hikmat, Samiullah, Rahim Gul, Mohammad Wali, Azim Gul, Ihsanullah and Ziarat Gul.
The injured admitted in Khyber Teaching Hospital were identified as Asghar, Samiullah, Haroon, Rasheed, Zikrullah, Nek Mohammad, Abdul Malik, Bukht Muner, Noor Zada, Shamat, Akbar Hussain, Ghulam Razi, Hakeem Khan, Anwar Javed, Nasir, Kirat, Afsar, Inayat, Abdul Rahman, Shamim, Aziz-ur-Rahman, Mohammad Sadiq, Gulab, Qaisar, Hazrat Kamal, Hazrat Umer, Gulab, Mustafa Kamal, Mohammad Naeem, Badshah Meer, Gul Zaman, Mian Jan, Naseem, Zakir, Yousaf Basir, Ahmad Jan, Fazal Hadi, Jabar, Gul Nazir, Syed Rahman, Sher Asghar, Lodak, Shahid, Mohammad Azam, Yaqoob, Baz Khan, Sohail, Fazal Hussain, Tufail Amjad, Zar Mohammad, Khan Sher, Maswood, Yarzada, Badshah Khan, Tufel Zafran, Zia-ul-Haq, Kemia Gul and Mobeen.
Meanwhile Central President of Awami National Party Asfandyar Wali Khan and Provincial President ANP Afrasiab Khattak strongly condemned the suicide attack and termed it an inhuman act of terrorism. They prayed for the early recovery of the injured person and directed party workers to donate blood to the blast victims.
KP Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain visited Hayatabad Medical Complex soon after the blast where he inquired about the health of the injured people. While talking to media persons, he said that war against militants would continue till their elimination. He said that in order to win war on terror, allied countries would have to end mistrust. He condemned the blast in strong words.
AFP add: Deputy chief of the semi-autonomous administration Khalid Mumtaz Kundi had said 117 people were also wounded in the attack.
“It was a suicide attack. The bomber was wearing about 8-10 kg of explosives and was on foot. He detonated in the main prayer hall,” he added.
Witness Gul Jamal Afridi, 46, a local truck driver told AFP that he had been thrown to the ground in the intensity of the blast.
“I saw smoke and fire. People were dying and crying for help, some were running in panic. I saw body parts and human flesh, it was horrible,” he said.
Student Saqib Ullah, 24, said he had tried to help those lying near him after the bomb went off, but found most were already dead.
“I saw my uncle lying in a pool of blood. I ran towards him and picked him up to carry on my back, but he had already died,” he said.
