September 11, 2008
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: At least 20 worshipers were killed and 30 wounded when suspected militants hurled grenades and fired into a mosque in northern Pakistan during evening prayers last night.
“Militants surrounded the mosque, threw grenades and then started indiscriminate firing, killing 20 people and wounding 30 others,” said a senior security official.
He said the attackers fled into the mountains after the attack in the remote region of the Dir district in North West Frontier Province, near the Afghan border.
Police said the Sunni mosque was full of people offering special Ramadan prayers when the attackers struck.
“People were offering prayers inside the mosque when unidentified people threw several grenades, causing bloodshed and mayhem,” police officer Naveed Khan told AFP.
Local district official Mahmood Khan said three grenades were lobbed into the mosque which hit the last two rows of the congregation. Children were among the victims, he said.
“An emergency has been declared in the hospital to treat the wounded,” he said.
Another security official said the attack did not appear to be sectarian.
“It is a blatant act of terrorism,” he said.
The district borders on Bajaur and Swat districts where Pakistani troops are heavily engaged in a crackdown on al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked militants.
Despite this, the attack was a rare one in the Dir district which has a majority of Sunni Muslims, the main denomination in Pakistan.
Mahmood Khan said no one had claimed responsibility for the attack but last month a meeting of elders in the area had issued a strongly-worded statement against the Taliban and had vowed to act against them entering the area.
The government has been struggling to tackle militant violence that has seen nearly 1,200 people killed in bombings and suicide attacks across the country in the past year.
US and Afghan officials say Pakistan's border tribal areas are a safe haven for al-Qa'ida and Taliban militants who snuck into the rugged region after the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001.
Al-Qa'ida chief Osama bin laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, are widely believed to be hiding in the mountainous region.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: At least 20 worshipers were killed and 30 wounded when suspected militants hurled grenades and fired into a mosque in northern Pakistan during evening prayers last night.
“Militants surrounded the mosque, threw grenades and then started indiscriminate firing, killing 20 people and wounding 30 others,” said a senior security official.
He said the attackers fled into the mountains after the attack in the remote region of the Dir district in North West Frontier Province, near the Afghan border.
Police said the Sunni mosque was full of people offering special Ramadan prayers when the attackers struck.
“People were offering prayers inside the mosque when unidentified people threw several grenades, causing bloodshed and mayhem,” police officer Naveed Khan told AFP.
Local district official Mahmood Khan said three grenades were lobbed into the mosque which hit the last two rows of the congregation. Children were among the victims, he said.
“An emergency has been declared in the hospital to treat the wounded,” he said.
Another security official said the attack did not appear to be sectarian.
“It is a blatant act of terrorism,” he said.
The district borders on Bajaur and Swat districts where Pakistani troops are heavily engaged in a crackdown on al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked militants.
Despite this, the attack was a rare one in the Dir district which has a majority of Sunni Muslims, the main denomination in Pakistan.
Mahmood Khan said no one had claimed responsibility for the attack but last month a meeting of elders in the area had issued a strongly-worded statement against the Taliban and had vowed to act against them entering the area.
The government has been struggling to tackle militant violence that has seen nearly 1,200 people killed in bombings and suicide attacks across the country in the past year.
US and Afghan officials say Pakistan's border tribal areas are a safe haven for al-Qa'ida and Taliban militants who snuck into the rugged region after the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001.
Al-Qa'ida chief Osama bin laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, are widely believed to be hiding in the mountainous region.
Source: The Australian
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