The death toll in the mosque suicide bombing in Pakistan’s Peshawar city increased to 62 on Saturday as more people succumbed to their wounds a day after the attack, a hospital spokesperson said, reported AFP.
The explosion took place at the mosque in the Kocha Risaldar area before Friday prayers.
Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that the police and other investigating agencies have identified three suspects in connection with the attack, which the Islamic State claimed responsibility for in a statement posted on its propaganda website, according to the report.
Muhammad Asim, a spokesperson for the Lady Reading Hospital, said five of the injured succumbed to their injuries, according to AFP. Of the 37 injured who have been hospitalised, five are in the intensive care unit.
Ahmed, meanwhile, said that the suspects in the mosque bombing would be arrested in one or two days.
Peshawar Police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan said that seven bodies were found to be charred beyond recognition. The police officer also said that 10 children are among the deceased.
A pair of amputated feet, which the police believe are among the remains of the bomber, were also found, said Khan. “We are trying to ascertain identity of the bomber through DNA testing,” Khand said, according to the AFP report.
Friday’s incident is the biggest terrorist attack in Peshawar since October 2020, when eight students and 120 others were killed after an explosive went off at a mosque.
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