Pakistan Mosque Bombing

At least 59 people were killed and more than 150 injured in a suicide bombing on a mosque inside a high-security police compound in the northwestern city of Peshawar, Pakistan. More than 300 people were praying at the mosque when the roof collapsed, and many of the victims were police officers.

A commander for the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter, while an official spokesperson has denied any involvement. The militant group, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, ended a cease-fire with the government in November and has been blamed for a string of recent attacks on security forces and police in the region. Pakistan saw 376 terrorist attacks in 2022, a 28% increase from 2021. The TTP is a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021. See an overview of the group here.

The attack comes less than one year after 63 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a different mosque in Peshawar.