CNN
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Several suspects arrested in connection with Monday’s incident suicide bomber More than 100 people have died in a mosque in the northern Pakistan city of Peshawar.
Peshawar police chief Mohammad Aijaz Khan said more arrests would follow after a major police investigation into the attack, which injured another 217 people.
Authorities are also investigating how the attackers entered the mosque, Khan added. A family living on the police compound where the mosque is located is under investigation as police cannot rule out the possibility that the attackers were aided by someone inside.
Police suspect 12 kilograms (26.5 pounds) of explosives were used by the suicide bomber, Peshawar Police Inspector General Moazim Jah Ansari previously said.
Footage of the destroyed walls of the mosque appeared, with glass windows and panels slammed in with powerful explosions.
Paramedics searched through the rubble and found survivors in the aftermath of the explosion, but officials said they found “mostly dead bodies”.
Monday’s blast worsened the security situation in Peshawar, the capital of the rebellious Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan and the site of frequent attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP). is shown.
There are conflicting claims about who was responsible for the attack, with TTP officials Sarbakaf Mohmand and Omar Mukaram Khurasani initially saying the blast was “revenge” for the death of TTP militant Khalid Khorasani last year. rice field.
However, the TTP’s main spokesperson, Muhammad Corasani, later denied the group was involved in the attack.
Pakistani authorities have not confirmed either claim.
Rights groups condemned the attack. This comes at a difficult time for Pakistan amid a severe cost of living crisis and an economic downturn exacerbated by last year’s devastating floods.
